Moody’s boosts Petronas rating on Iraq exposure

Rating agency gives a surprise boost to Malaysian oil company Petronas’s credit rating from negative to stable, despite the company’s substantial acquisition of an Iraqi oil field with Royal Dutch Shell

Moody's has raised Malysian state-owned Petronas's A1 senior unsecured rating from negative to stable, despite the group's riskier business profile following a major acquisition of a large oil field in Iraq.

"We expect the company's $20 billion capital expenditure for the Iraqi fields to be spread out over a period of 20 years," says Philipp Lotter, lead analyst and senior vice-president at Moody's. "Annual capital expenditure is expected to peak in the first five years, which potentially