FITCH AFFIRMS KAZAKHSTAN'S ATF BANK

/REUTERS, February 16, 06/ - Fitch Ratings has today assigned Issuer Default ratings ("IDRs") to companies in the EMEA energy and utilities sectors. Revised senior unsecured ratings now apply to the senior unsecured bond issues of these entities. IDRs reflect the ability of an issuer to meet senior financial commitments on a timely basis, effectively becoming the benchmark probability of default. Securities in an issuer's capital structure will be rated higher, lower, or the same as the IDR on the basis of their relative recovery prospects. (For further details, please see Fitch's reports "Recovery Ratings: Exposing the Components of Credit Risk" Criteria Report dated 26 July 2005, "Recovery Ratings - Approach and Process for Corporate Finance" Criteria Report dated 9 August 2005 and "EMEA Energy and Utilities - Issuer Default Ratings and Recovery Ratings" Criteria Report dated today, available on www.fitchratings.com.) The process of establishing ratings for the obligations of issuers rated between 'AAA' and 'BB-' (BB minus) will refer, for the most part, to aggregate recoveries on the defaulted bond market as a whole for that sector and not to issuer-specific analysis since assumptions on enterprise value and creditor mass at default for these entities would be largely arbitrary. For this reason, recovery assessments and thus individual issue ratings will be based more on the long-term averages of recovery for that type of security in a given sector, after giving consideration to additional issues such as collateral value, relative subordination and other determinants of recovery. For issuers rated 'B+' and below, recovery ratings derive from a customised analysis of the individual issuer and their capital structure, assuming emergence from a defaulted stress scenario. Existing Outlooks and Rating Watch status assigned to the previous Senior Unsecured, counterparty or other issuer ratings remain unchanged and apply to the IDRs for the issuers as below. Similarly, the Rating Watch status on previous issue ratings remains unchanged for the issuers listed below. The Issuer Default ratings are listed below for issuers whose IDR has been set at the same level as the previously assigned Senior Unsecured rating and where there are no changes in the issuer's secured, unsecured or subordinated debt rating. For other issuers please refer to the separate announcement titled 'Fitch Revises Ratings for EMEA Energy and Utilities' also published today. National ratings remain unchanged with the introduction of the IDR and Recovery rating methodology for international ratings. UTILITY AND POWER COMPANIES Enagas SA: 'A+' Outlook Stable Eskom Holdings Limited Local Currency IDR 'A' Outlook Stable Hidroelectrica del Cantabrico- Hidrocantabrico: 'BBB+' Outlook Stable Namibia Power Corporation (Proprietary) Limited: 'BBB-' (BBB minus) Outlook Stable Slovenske Elektrarne a.s.: 'BB+' Rating Watch Positive Slovensky plynarensky priemysel a.s.: 'A' Outlook Stable Local Currency IDR 'A' Outlook Stable Union Fenosa SA: 'BBB+' Outlook Stable Miejskie Wodociagi i Kanalizacja w Bydgoszczy Spolka z o.o. ("MWiK") BBB-' (BBB minus) Secured debt rating MWiK's rating is solely for the company's secured revenue bond programme. OIL AND GAS COMPANIES Aker Kvaerner Oil & Gas Group AS: 'BB' Outlook Positive BG Energy Holdings Ltd: 'A' Outlook Stable BP plc: 'AA+' Outlook Stable Eni S.p.A.: 'AA-' (AA minus) Outlook Stable Mazeikiu Nafta AB: 'B+' Outlook Stable National Iranian Oil Company: 'BB-' (BB minus) Outlook Negative OAO Gazprom: 'BB+' Outlook Stable Local Currency IDR 'BB+' Outlook Stable OAO Tatneft: 'B' Outlook Stable OJSC OC Rosneft: 'BB+' Outlook Stable Local Currency IDR 'BB+' Outlook Stable OTC KazTransOil: 'BB+' Outlook Stable NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine: 'BB-' (BB minus) Outlook Negative Local Currency IDR 'BB-' (BB minus) Outlook Negative Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN SA: 'BBB' Outlook Stable Repsol YPF SA: 'BBB+' Rating Watch Negative The Rompetrol Group NV: 'B-' (B minus) Outlook Stable Royal Dutch Shell Royal Dutch Shell plc: 'AA+' Outlook Stable Royal Dutch /Shell Group: 'AA+' Outlook Stable TNK-BP International Ltd: 'BB+' Outlook Positive Local Currency IDR 'BB+' Outlook Positive TOTAL SA: 'AA' Outlook Positive Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS (TUPRAS): 'BB-' (BB minus) Outlook Positive Local Currency IDR 'BBB-' (BBB minus) Outlook Stable The ratings for TNK-BP International Ltd's non-capital markets secured debt and senior secured debt are both affirmed at 'BBB-' (BBB minus) and withdrawn. Contact: Andrew Steel, London, Tel: +44 (0)20 7862 4086; Laurence Monnier, +44 (0)20 7417 3546; Isaac Xenitides +44 (0)20 7417 4300; Steve Durose +44 (0)20 7417 4308; Rebeca Ehrnrooth +44 (0)20 7417 3474; Erwin Van Lumich, Barcelona, +34 93 323 8403; Francesca Fraulo, Milan, +39 02 879 087 237; Jeffrey Woodruff, Moscow, +7 495 956 9986; Arkadiusz Wicik, Warsaw, +48 22 338 62 86. Media Relations: Alex Clelland, London, Tel: +44 20 7862 4084. [2006-02-16]