S&P: W&T Offshore notes recovery revised to 3

Standard & Poor's said the B senior unsecured rating on W&T Offshore Inc.'s 8½% senior notes due 2019 is unchanged after the company announced it will seek to add $250 million to the existing $600 million notes outstanding, bringing the total issue amount to $850 million.

The agency also said it revised the recovery rating on this debt to 3, indicating 50% to 70% expected recovery in a default, from 4.

The B corporate credit rating and stable outlook are unaffected.

The proceeds will be used to repay outstanding indebtedness that the company recently incurred on its revolving credit facility to purchase the Gulf of Mexico assets from Newfield Exploration Co. for $208 million, S&P said.

The ratings reflect the company's vulnerable business risk and aggressive financial risk, the agency said.

The ratings consider its participation in the competitive and highly cyclical oil and gas industry, geographic concentration in the high-risk offshore Gulf of Mexico, weak internal reserve replacement measures and current softness in natural gas prices, S&P said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.