Chaparral

Onshore independent Chaparral Energy Inc., whose primary exploration focus is the Mississippian Lime and Oklahoma’s stacked reservoirs, has filed for bankruptcy protection and is talking with creditors to reach an exchange agreement to reduce bondholder debt by about $1.2 billion.

Midcontinent pure-play Chaparral Energy Inc. had dropped all but one of its 10 rigs by early April, delayed completing wells and worked with vendors to reduce costs, a plan that is bearing fruit as it plans to add one rig within the next few days and third by the end of the year to enable it to hit production targets, the CEO said Monday.

An Oklahoma tax break for horizontal wells enacted in 2010 is depriving the Sooner State of revenue that could beef up its rainy day fund and should be reconsidered, the state’s secretary of finance and revenue said.