Question-and-Answer Session
Brandy, are you there?
Operator
[Technical Difficulty].
Steven J. Malcolm - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
It sounds like we are having some technical difficulties. Let's give it a few minutes and see if we can get them solved.
Operator
[Operator Instructions]. Your first question comes from the line of Shneur Gershuni.
Shneur Gershuni - UBS
I knew that you're restricted on what you can say with respect to strategic review that you're that's currently underway. I was wondering if it's fair to say that investors tend to assume that something will actually occur that there will actually be a transaction of some sort of where you will be separating something you are selling something.
And I was wondering also, if you can frame it, you had mentioned in your press release about how you are looking at a scenario where you like to maintain the strong credit profile, how that would occur if you were to separate the business out, how the credit profile would actually be able to maintain a strong credit profile, given that you'll be separating a strong cash flow assets from some of the assets that are, for example like E&P where, sorry excuse me, where you are potentially running beyond the cash flow and so forth?
So I was wondering if you could, if you can answer those questions.
Steven J. Malcolm - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Thanks for the question. And the short answer is, no. We can't go into too much detail, I think look at our press release, we said that we were going to embark this evaluation and that, we would hope to be able to make an announcement in the first quarter as to what direction that we're headed.
We've indicated that obviously the macro economic environment, credit market's energy prices and all kinds of other variables are going to be considered as part of the evaluation. And really have not commented at all as to what the timing of a possible transaction might be. Regarding the credit question again, that's I think its premature for us to try to speculate, I think we made very clear that an investment grade rating a strong credit profile was important to us today. And it's going to continue to be important to us in the future.
Shneur Gershuni - UBS
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