Fitch Affirms TransGas de Occidente's 9.79% Senior Secured Notes due 2010 at 'BB'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch has affirmed the debt rating of 'BB' to TransGas de Occidente's 9.79% senior secured notes due 2010. The rating affirmation is fundamentally based on the project's stable revenues derived primarily from tariff payments received from Ecopetrol (IDR IDR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Indonesian Rupiah. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. of 'BB', with a Positive Outlook by Fitch), the wholly owned Colombian state company that explores for and exploits oil in Colombia (long-term foreign currency rating of 'BB', with a Positive Outlook). The credit characteristics of TransGas have remained stable and consistent with expectations. The rating of the notes would have continued to be in the low-investment-grade category, as assigned by Fitch initially, were it not for the constraints imposed by Ecopetrol and the sovereign. The pipeline's operating performance with an availability rate of close to 100% has enabled the project to receive tariff payments as expected. In 2005, after-tax cash available for debt service Cash Available for Debt Service Ratio of cash assets to debt service (interest plus nearby principal). Used in evaluating the risk of a project or firm. The higher the ratio the less likely the firm or project will fail to meet its debt obligations. exceeded scheduled interest and principal payments of $43.2 million by 1.47 times (x). A Credit Analysis report 'TransGas de Occidente', available on the Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. web site, details further the rating rationale and credit fundamentals of the project. TransGas was incorporated under Colombian law in 1995 to create, build, own, operate, maintain and transfer a natural gas pipeline. The project consists of a 206-mile, 20-inch diameter trunk line and 47 lateral lines totaling approximately 275 miles with metering stations to connect with distribution networks. The three largest equity holders of TransGas are TCPL Marcali Company Ltd. (44%), BP Colombia Pipeline Ltd. (20%), and Gas Natural del Oriente ESP (1) (Enhanced Service Provider) An organization that adds value to basic telephone service by offering such features as call-forwarding, call-detailing and protocol conversion. (14%). Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, 'www.fitchratings.com'. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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