The plethora of bankruptcies that engulfed the North American oil and gas sector as Covid-19 stripped demand has begun to subside, according to Haynes and Boone LLP.

bankruptcy filings

The law firm since 2015 has monitored the North American oil patch, oilfield services (OFS) and midstream sectors to tally bankruptcies.

A dozen exploration and production (E&P) producers sought protection in the first six months, the lowest number in six years, the researchers said. Most of the bankruptcies were filed between January and March, when eight E&Ps looked for court relief. 

The previous lowest total for filings was in the first half of 2015, when 13 sought protection.

Also positive was the debt amounts involved, the data showed.

“There were no producers with billion‐dollar bankruptcies in...