Shale Firm's Bankruptcy Exit Doesn't End Struggle
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp and its founder Gary Evans are emblematic for the U.S. shale revolution: it started small, borrowed heavily to snap up land and rivals and then crumbled under the weight of debt when prices crashed. Now, the oil and gas company is among the first casualties of the energy slump to exit bankruptcy and Evans has a message for its peers: even once you are debt-free you cannot take survival for granted if energy prices do not recover soon.
Even Bankrupt Shale Drillers Keep Pumping Oil
As oil prices nosedived by two-thirds since 2014, a belief took hold in global energy markets that for prices to recover, many U.S. shale producers would first have to falter to allow markets to rebalance. With U.S. oil prices now trading below $40 a barrel, the corporate casualties are already mounting. More than 50 North American oil and gas producers have entered bankruptcy since early 2015, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings and other data.
Even Bankrupt US Shale Drillers Keep Pumping
As oil prices nosedived by two-thirds since 2014, a belief took hold in global energy markets that for prices to recover, many U.S. shale producers would first have to falter to allow markets to rebalance. With U.S. oil prices now trading below $40 a barrel, the corporate casualties are already mounting. More than 50 North American oil and gas producers have entered bankruptcy since early 2015, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings and other data.
Midstream Energy Industry Braces for Key Bankruptcy Court Ruling
The $500 billion midstream sector is bracing on Tuesday for a ruling from a U.S. bankruptcy judge that could determine if energy producers can use Chapter 11 to shed contracts with pipeline operators for transporting oil and natural gas. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman in Manhattan will read her ruling at 2:30 pm ET on a request by Houston-based Sabine Oil & Gas Corp to reject…
Mild Weather Further Pressures U.S. Drillers
Strapped for cash, Chesapeake Energy Corp canceled its traditionally grand display of holiday lights this year, but like most oil and gas drillers it is still dreaming of a white Christmas. A mild North American winter could punish large drillers, especially gas giants like Chesapeake, by curbing seasonal demand for heating of homes and businesses and hurting prices. Energy companies…
Zombies Appear in U.S. Oilfields as Crude Dips Lower
Drained by a 17-month crude rout, some U.S. shale oil companies are merely hanging on for life as oil prices lurch further away from levels that allow them to profitably drill new wells and bring in enough cash to keep them in business. The slump has created dozens of oil and gas "zombies," a term lawyers and restructuring advisers use to describe companies that have just enough money to pay interest on mountains of debt…
Magnum Hunter to explore strategic options
Oil and gas producer Magnum Hunter Resources Corp said it hired advisers to explore strategic options and suspended monthly dividends on its preferred stock. The company hired PJT Partners LP as financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal adviser. (Reporting by Manish Parashar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Magnum Hunter Looks to Shed Pipeline Stake
Oil and natural gas producer Magnum Hunter Resources Corp said it expected to raise $600-$700 million by selling its 45.53 percent stake in its natural gas gathering subsidiary, Eureka Hunter Holdings. A deal will allow Magnum Hunter to restructure its balance sheet and shore up liquidity, the company said. Magnum Hunter said in May it expected to raise about $50 million by selling a part of its interest in Eureka Hunter.
US Shale Cutbacks to Bring Quick Output Dip
Shale oil producers are throttling back so quickly on drilling that U.S. crude output could fall sooner than expected, within months, executives say as they slash costs to cope with tumbling crude prices and compete with Persian Gulf rivals. About a dozen chief executives who talked to Reuters or who spoke publicly, acknowledged they were taken aback by the scale and speed of the cutbacks…
Magnum Hunter: Slashed all Spending Amidst Cheap Oil, Gas
Oil and natural gas producer Magnum Hunter Resources Corp said on Friday it has cut all capital spending amidst plunging commodity prices, expecting prices to remain low for at least the next year. "When you're in a death spiral of prices in this business, you're crazy to be spending money," Chief Executive Gary Evans said on a conference call with investors. Magnum's board plans to meet on Monday to discuss 2015 budget plans.
S&P Downgrades Eight US Oil & Gas Firms
Standard & Poor's has downgraded eight US oil and gas exploration and production companies after the ratings agency completed a review of the sector in light of the steep decline in oil prices. The firms were WPX Energy, Energy XXI, Warren Resources, Swift Energy, Midstates Petroleum, Magnum Hunter Resources, Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations and Rooster Energy. The agency has also lowered the outlook of 12 additional companies…
Sinking Oil Prices May Curb US Output Too Slowly for Saudis
Saudi Arabia effectively started a global oil price war this month aimed at quickly denting U.S. oil output. Slowing a U.S. drilling boom, however, could take more than a year. Many observers expect a downward spiral of global oil prices to rapidly dampen shale oil drilling in the United States, slow production growth and help bolster prices. Small producers vulnerable to sudden price moves may have to slow spending, fast reducing the amount of oil gushing to market.
U.S. Oil Output Cuts Could Take a While
Saudi Arabia effectively started a global oil price war this month aimed at quickly denting U.S. oil output. Slowing a U.S. drilling boom, however, could take more than a year. Many observers expect a downward spiral of global oil prices to rapidly dampen shale oil drilling in the United States, slow production growth and help bolster prices. Small producers vulnerable to sudden price moves may have to slow spending, fast reducing the amount of oil gushing to market.
Morgan Stanley Has Stake in Pipeline Asset
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp said it will sell a stake in its natural gas gathering subsidiary in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields, to a unit of Morgan Stanley, giving the two co-ownership in the business valued at $1 billion. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure said it would pay Magnum Hunter $65 million for a 6.5 percent stake and that it would buy ArcLight Capital Partners LLC's 41 percent stake in the business for an unspecified amount.