Azerbaijan, Baku, March 17 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
The Moody's international rating agency confirmed the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic's (SOCAR) corporate family rating and the probability of the "Ba1" default rating assigned in February 2010, Moody's Moscow Office told Trend.
"This is annual certification because every year we must issue a credit report and consider the rating, but most likely, we will consider it again after the company reported the data for 2010. This is not a new rating, that is, it is a confirmation of the existing rating," Moody's reported.
The company tries to reassess the rating as a result of the yearly report. The agency intends to conduct regular reviews of SOCAR's rating in summer when the company publishes its annual report.
"The outlook on the sovereign rating of Azerbaijan was changed and we need to see if this will directly affect the company's rating. We have not yet recorded a direct effect," the agency said.
SOCAR is 100-percent state-owned and represents the state's interests in the oil and gas industry, which is vital to the economy. It is the largest taxpayer in the country.
Most of the oil and gas fields in Azerbaijan are being developed by SOCAR at its own expense. SOCAR is party to all the projects to develop fields in Azerbaijan with foreign participation, including the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz.