KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): Moody’s Investors Service says it expects refiners’ earnings to decline marginally in the second quarter of the year, amid weaker refining margin environment.

“The month-on-month volatility in refining margins was driven by an increase in supply in May, after the scheduled refinery maintenance. In June, the strong margin performance was supported by the strong fuel oil crack spread,” it said in the latest edition of its Asia Oil & Gas Quarterly report, published today.

As of July 3, Malaysia’s national oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) was given an ‘A1 Rating’ with a ‘Stable’ outlook in Moody’s list of rated oil and gas issuers.

"We expect Asian investment-grade exploration & production players, particularly national oil companies, to be well-positioned to withstand the volatility in oil prices, in view of their robust liquidity profiles and strong access to capital," Moody’s Assistant Vice President and Analyst, Rachel Chua, said.

“Furthermore, upstream acquisitions will likely pick up, as oil prices stabilize within our anticipated band of US$40- US$60/bbl for both Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with companies seeking opportunities to buy assets at relatively low prices to strengthen their production and reserves profiles," Chua added.

The Asia Oil & Gas Quarterly report examines major credit trends in the oil and gas industry across Asia, through recently-published Moody's reports.