Globe&Mail.com: Shell Canada's debt ratings cut
Bloomberg News
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
CALGARY -- Shell Canada Ltd.'s debt ratings have been cut by Standard & Poor's Corp. and may be downgraded further after revisions to oil and natural gas reserves at parent company Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Ratings of Calgary-based Shell Canada's long-term debt were cut to double-A, the third-highest grade, from double-A (plus), S&P said.
The downgrades, which affect about $1.24-billion in borrowings, came after Europe's Royal Dutch/Shell announced its third cut to reserves this year and fired chief financial officer Judith Boynton. S&P cut the group's debt rating from the highest investment grade.
The lowering of Royal Dutch/Shell Group's ratings automatically triggered the downgrade of Shell Canada, S&P said. Royal Dutch/Shell owns 78 per cent of Shell Canada.
Shell Canada is Canada's fourth-largest oil company by sales, ranking behind Imperial Oil Ltd., EnCana Corp. and Petro-Canada.