CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has affirmed the rating assigned to the 2010-1 notes issued by Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII / IX Ltd. (Odebrecht Drilling), a Cayman Islands Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as follows:
--US$1,500,000,000 2010-1 notes at 'BBB'; Outlook Stable.
The rating affirmation is based on the commencement of operations for the Norbe VIII and Norbe IX vessels; the continued positive environment for local players in the Brazilian oil and gas industry; the forward-looking expectation of uptime performance for the underlying vessels; current liquidity protections and the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio of approximately 75%, based on Fitch's adjusted valuation for the vessels.
The notes are backed by the flows related to the charter by Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) of the Norbe VIII and Norbe IX dynamic positioning ultra-deepwater drillships for a period of 10 years. Odebrecht Oleo e Gas S.A. (OOG), sponsor of the transaction, is the operator of the vessels. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as collateral agent to the transaction, has been assigned a collateral package that includes a pledge of the shares of the entities that own the drillships, as well as mortgages on them.
The Norbe VIII vessel left the Daewoo Shipping and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea on March 18, 2011 and arrived in Brazil on May 15, 2011. It began operations following acceptance by Petrobras on the beginning of August 2011. The Norbe IX vessel left the shipyard on May 31, 2011 and arrived in Brazil on July 29, 2011. It began operating following acceptance by Petrobras in the beginning of November 2011. Both have begun operating prior to the deadline dates as per the charter agreements.
As expected for newly built vessels, uptime performance for the first few months of operation has been below the long-term average expected uptime level of 95%. The operator's expectation is that these vessels will average uptime above 90% within their first year of operations. The transaction benefits from the additional liquidity provided from reserves in a total amount equivalent to one principal and interest amortization, and six months of business interruption insurance in case uptime performance falls below expected levels.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. The ratings above were solicited by, or on behalf of, the issuer, and therefore, Fitch has been compensated for the provision of the ratings.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria'
--Rating Criteria for Infrastructure and Project Finance
--Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII / IX Ltd. Series 2010-1 (ABS)'
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII/IX Ltd., Series 2010-1
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=570505
Rating Criteria for Infrastructure and Project Finance
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=648832
Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=646569
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