Fitch Ratings has downgraded the debt of energy giant BP Plc by six notches this week, to BBB, as the potential cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill and related future litigation liabilities put the company’s future in question.
The rating of BBB is only two grades above “junk” status. “The recent claims by U.S. state and federal authorities that BP escrow significant sums pre-emptively, ahead of any agreed claims process, represent a material change in approach,” Fitch said in a statement announcing the action.
Fitch is one of the largest credit ratings firms in the world.
