Fitch Ratings last week affirmed the ratings it assigns about $133 million of debt sold by the Louisiana Offshore Terminal Authority for LOOP LLC, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port.
Fitch analyst Hugh Welton said the LOOP system survived hurricanes Katrina and Rita unscathed from both an operating and financial standpoint. As a result, about $61 million of first-stage deepwater port revenue and revenue refunding bonds were affirmed at A and about $72 million of deepwater port refunding revenue bonds were affirmed at A-minus.
There are still credit concerns, such as possible operating disruptions resulting from future storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico, Welton said. Following Katrina, LOOP was closed to imports for about three days until limited power was restored, he said. Once full power was restored, the port was operating at full capacity within about two weeks.
Other credit concerns cited by Fitch include ongoing competitive pressures from short-haul tankers capable of bypassing LOOP and the potential for growing deepwater oil production in the gulf to displace portions of foreign imports.
