Fitch Ratings' credit outlook for US natural gas pipelines remains stable as the predominance of capacity-reservation contracts limits any negative effects from commodity price and volume volatility, as discussed in Fitch's US Natural Gas º£½Ç³Ô¹ÏÍø Dashboard.
The main risk for natural gas pipelines is recontracting, particularly in light of the compressed basis spreads and shifting US supply/demand dynamics. Fitch notes that most pipeline issuers in its ratings portfolio have medium- to longer term contract expirations, so the risk is more of a longer-term, rather than immediate-term one.
Adapted from press release by