S&P: Amerada Hess unaffected

Standard & Poor's said that Amerada Hess Corp.'s (BBB-/stable/--) announcement that it has lowered production guidance for the fourth quarter and for 2005 will not affect the ratings or outlook on the company.

The production shortfall largely stems from deferred production in the Gulf of Mexico related to recent hurricanes and outages and extended maintenance at some of the company's nonoperated North Sea fields, S&P said.

Production for 2005 is now expected to be about 337,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe), down from initial guidance of 350,000 boe. The expected short-term duration of the production shortfall and favorable near-term industry fundamentals should allow the company to continue to generate credit measures appropriate for the rating, even at lower production levels, S&P said.

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