As oil prices remain depressed, Haynes and Boone said a wave of oil and gas bankruptcies in North America is likely to continue this year.
As oil prices collapsed due to the pandemic and a brief, unexpected price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, bankruptcies surged in Q2, including from major shale independents Chesapeake Energy and Whiting Petroleum.
In the second quarter, there were 18 producer bankruptcies. Since the second quarter of 2016, when there were 34 bankruptcies, this is the highest quarterly figure. This year, 18 oilfield service firms and 23 oil producers have sought protection from creditors.
