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Fitch Upgrades Saudi Electricity Company to 'A+'; Stable Outlook

Saudi Electricity Company HQ in Riyadh - SPA
Saudi Electricity Company HQ in Riyadh - SPA
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Fitch Upgrades Saudi Electricity Company to 'A+'; Stable Outlook

Saudi Electricity Company HQ in Riyadh - SPA
Saudi Electricity Company HQ in Riyadh - SPA

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Saudi Electricity Company's (SEC) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to 'A+' from 'A', and removed the ratings from Under Criteria Observation (UCO). The National Long-Term Rating was also upgraded to 'AAA(sau)' from 'AA+(sau)'.

The agency also said in its reports that all the outlooks are Stable.

The upgrade follows a reassessment of SEC's links with the Saudi Arabian government under Fitch's recently updated Government-Related Entities (GRE) Rating Criteria.

SEC's ratings are now equalized with those of Saudi Arabia (KSA, A+/Stable), as the new support score assumes 'Virtually Certain' support from the state, based on GRE Criteria definitions.

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Israel Approves Extra Gas Exports, Leviathan Field to Be Expanded 

An aerial view taken from a helicopter shows the Leviathan natural gas rig off the coast of the Mediterranean coast, in northern Israel, April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view taken from a helicopter shows the Leviathan natural gas rig off the coast of the Mediterranean coast, in northern Israel, April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israel Approves Extra Gas Exports, Leviathan Field to Be Expanded 

An aerial view taken from a helicopter shows the Leviathan natural gas rig off the coast of the Mediterranean coast, in northern Israel, April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view taken from a helicopter shows the Leviathan natural gas rig off the coast of the Mediterranean coast, in northern Israel, April 26, 2023. (Reuters)

Israel on Wednesday approved the export of more natural gas from its offshore fields to boost the economy and energy security, and its partners in the huge Leviathan project in turn said they planned to invest up to $500 million to expand its capacity.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen said the decision to more than double the amount of gas allowed for exports would strengthen diplomatic ties, improve Israel's energy security and bring an added windfall to the economy.

His ministry gave the green light for the export of an additional 118 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from the east Mediterranean reserves, beyond the 105 bcm previously approved. The companies will still need to get specific export licenses for the additional quantities.

The Leviathan partners, which include operator Chevron and Israeli companies NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies, said they now intend to invest $400-500 million to expand the project, which primarily exports to Egypt and Jordan.

That includes the project's front-end engineering design and long lead items, NewMed said. It added that additional exports could rise to 145 bcm if certain conditions are fulfilled.

"Demand for natural gas in Israel and regional markets is rising and as such we are preparing to expand production at the Leviathan project," said Ratio chief executive Yigal Landau.

Leviathan currently produces 12 bcm a year, and that will gradually rise to about 21 bcm a year, NewMed said. It said the group is continuing to negotiate new deals to sell gas domestically and internationally.

Israel exported 8.6 bcm of gas to Egypt in 2023, which is an increase of 39% over the prior year. It also supplied Jordan with 2.9 bcm in 2023.