Qatar Petroleum (QP) had QR49bn ($13.5bn) of cash and cash equivalents on a proportionately consolidated basis as of December 2020, said Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) yesterday. The rating agency noted that QP reported sales of QR76.4bn ($21bn) and total assets of QR422.3bn ($116bn) in 2020.
“As of December 2020, QP had QR49bn ($13.5bn) of cash and cash equivalents on a proportionately consolidated basis. This, in addition to expected funds from operations (excluding working capital) of QR83.2bn ($22.8bn) are more than sufficient to cover capital spending of QR44.5bn ($12.2bn) and dividends of QR39.1bn ($10.8bn),” said Moody’s in a report.
Qatar’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) expansion project has evoked a huge response from global energy companies. Several major players in the field of energy including Royal Dutch Shell PLC, TotalEnergies SE and ExxonMobil Corporation have submitted bids to partner on the LNG expansion project. QP has received offers for double the equity available to potential partners in the bidding process for the North Field East project.The expansion project is unique in the LNG world because of its advanced environmental characters, including significant carbon capture and sequestration capacity.
The country has embarked on an ambitious LNG capacity expansion plan. The two-phase North Field Expansion project will see Qatar’s LNG capacity increasing from 77 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 126 mtpa by 2027, showing an increase of around 64 percent. The first phase of expansion will include expansion of LNG capacity from 77 mtpa to 110 mtpa by 2025 while the second phase will take LNG capacity to 126 mtpa by 2027.
Moody’s said that QP’s Aa3 issuer rating reflects the combination of QP’s Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA), a measure of its standalone credit profile, of aa3 and assumptions of very high dependence and very high support from the Qatari government.
The rating of QP is aligned to that of the Government of Qatar and today’s rating affirmation reflects Moody’s view that the strategic importance of QP to the government remains unchanged.
