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The Troubled Energy and Production (Oil and Gas) Sector

By Mark S. Melickian
October 14, 2016

The oil and gas exploration sector in North America has been crushed by high debt, globally low oil prices and regional overcapacity. The result: Over 100 oil and gas exploration and production companies have filed for bankruptcy over the past 18 months, and dozens more are expected to follow. The stress on the producers is threatening a secondary wave of bankruptcies among the downstream counterparties to the producers ' in particular, the so-called “midstream” entities that move the oil and gas produced into the broader system and are tied to the producers through gathering and similar agreements.

The vast majority of recent oil and gas filings have occurred solely in the United States, with filings in Texas leading the way. A few filings have occurred solely in Canada under its insolvency regime. A very small subset of those have filed in both jurisdictions.

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