Defaults represent a combined $21.5 billion in debt
Energy attorneys Haynes and Boone have released the firm’s updated list of oil and gas bankruptcies, detailing how the continuing downcycle has affected companies.
This list has tracked all oil and gas industry bankruptcies among E&P, oilfield service and midstream since 2015, totaling 293 different bankruptcies. These range from large bankruptcies, like Sandridge Energy which had $8.26 billion in debt, to tiny companies like KMK Oil & Gas which had $10,325 in debt.
According to Haynes and Boone, there have been only five bankruptcies in the oil and gas industry in July. All of these have been oilfield service companies, and relatively small ones. In total, these five companies represent less than $188 million in debt.
E&P companies seem to have adapted to 2017’s $45-$55/bbl price range, and bankruptcies have been down significantly in 2017. So far, only 13 E&P companies have gone bankrupt in 2017, compared to 54 at this point last year. The E&P companies that have gone under in 2017 are smaller than in 2016 as well. The 13 bankrupt companies represent about $5.1 billion in combined debt, compared to the $50 billion that went bankrupt in 2016.
32 service companies go under
The oilfield service industry is still being pressed by tight margins, and 32 service companies have gone bankrupt in 2017. This is fewer than the 45 service companies that went bankrupt in YTD 2016, but the total amount of debt defaulted on is greater. So far in 2017, companies have defaulted on nearly $16.4 billion in debt, more than all of 2016 combined.
