American Eagle Energy Becomes Fourth U.S. Bankruptcy Of The Oil Bust
American Eagle Energy became the fourth U.S. energy producer to file for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the big drop in crude oil prices.
The Colorado-based company that buys and develops oil wells in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota and Montana filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday in Denver’s bankruptcy court. American Eagle Energy, which recently missed an interest payment on its debt, listed assets of $222 million and liabilities of $215 million.
Shares of American Eagle Energy traded for as much as $7.05 less than a year ago, reflecting the stunningly fast collapse of oil prices in recent months.
Still, big financial busts generally produce many corporate bankruptcies. But that has not been the case in the U.S. oil sector, where many independent oil companies emerged in recent years and raised lots of debt financing to drill for shale oil using new techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Quicksilver Resources, BPZ Resources and WBH Energy are the only other U.S. energy producers to file for bankruptcy-court protection so far. Another independent oil firm, Sabine Oil & Gas, has missed an interest payments and could be next.
