Moody’s boosts Petronas rating on Iraq exposure

Moody's has raised Malysian state-owned Petronas's A1 senior unsecured rating from negative to stable, despite the group's riskier business profile following a major acquisition of a large oil field in Iraq.

"We expect the company's $20 billion capital expenditure for the Iraqi fields to be spread out over a period of 20 years," says Philipp Lotter, lead analyst and senior vice-president at Moody's. "Annual capital expenditure is expected to peak in the first five years, which potentially