International rating agency Moody's has left unchanged the stable outlook and long-term issuer rating of "Baa3" for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
During the meeting, a regular scheduled review of SOCAR's ratings was conducted. The validity of the ratings was reassessed taking into account the applied baseline methodology and current events.
"This information does not imply a new decision on the credit rating and does not indicate that such a decision will be made in the near future," the agency stated.
According to the information, in line with Moody's methodology for government-related issuers, SOCAR's rating reflects factors such as the company's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) at "ba2", the foreign currency credit rating of the Government of Azerbaijan at "Baa3" — which is the 100% owner of the company — a very high default correlation between SOCAR and the government, and a high likelihood of government support in the event of financial difficulties.
SOCAR's BCA assessment at "ba2" is based on positive factors such as the company's key role in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector and its great importance to the national economy, strong financial performance, solid credit metrics, close ties with the Government of Azerbaijan, which has accumulated significant financial reserves, and the government's ability to provide financial support to the company if needed.