International ratings agency Fitch has awarded the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) a stand-alone credit rating of AA+. This rating is evidence of ADNOC’s ongoing transformation from a traditional NOC into a more commercially-driven and innovative organization. The AA+ rating is the highest that Fitch gives out to companies in the energy sector. The ratings agency reiterated that a standalone rating only takes into account an entity’s creditworthiness without including the ecosystem connected to it. The most remarkable fact at present is that ADNOC has a higher rating than the sovereign rating of its main shareholder, the government of Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi NOC holds vast reserves and a high (and expanding) upstream output, which is combined with low production costs, strong downstream integration and a conservative financial profile. ADNOC has clearly outperformed its main IOC rivals, such as Petrochina, Shell, BP and Total, which are rated […]