Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrades 6 oilpatch companies

Standard and Poor's has taken negative ratings actions against six companies in Canada's oilpatch.

Two of Canada's largest producers, Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy, maintain their investment-grade ratings. Cenovus has been lowered a notch to BBB, with its outlook stable, and Husky remains at BBB+, but its outlook has been downgraded from stable to negative.

• When good loans go bad among junior energy companies

Standard and Poor's says oil and natural gas prices that may remain low for an extended period are affecting the earnings potential of these companies.

The agency has also downgraded rates of four speculativeCanadian energy firms:

• Harvest Operations: rating lowered to CCC+, outlook downgraded from stable to negative.
• Jupiter Resources:rating lowered to B and the outlook remains negative.
• Bellatrix Exploration: rating lowered to B, but the outlook remains stable.
• Lightstream Resources: rating remains at B-, outlook downgraded from stable to negative.

A lower credit rating can affect the price these companies have to pay to service their debt and can impact how much money banks are willing to lend them for investment in the coming year.