Debt

Whiting Petroleum Corp. said it is taking advantage of resurgent oil prices to pay down its debt and is on-target with capital expenditures (capex) for the year, despite spending more than it planned on nonoperated expenses during the first quarter.

The wave of bankruptcies that swept across the U.S. oil and gas industry in 2015 and 2016 has ebbed, but the recent slump in commodity prices points to caution signs ahead, according to Haynes and Boone LLP.

Range Resources Corp. is taking a hard look at its portfolio as it pursues multiple asset sales to help delever its balance sheet, with properties being marketed in northeast Pennsylvania and the Midcontinent. Management also has not ruled out unloading some core inventory that isn’t in the development plans anytime soon.

Moody’s Investors Service warned in a report released on Monday that merchant coal-fired power generators operating in PJM Interconnection continue to face increased refinancing risks as wholesale electricity prices remain low and more natural gas-fired facilities come online.

Denver-based SM Energy Co. has hired Petrie Partners to sell noncore assets in the Williston Basin’s Bakken Shale to focus additional capital on the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. According to the company, about 54,500 net acres are being marketed, consisting of the Raven/Bear Den acreage and leases outside the Divide County, ND, development.

One month after scuttling their planned merger, Baker Hughes Inc. and Halliburton Co. were dealt another setback on Friday after Moody’s Investors Service downgraded their credit ratings.

After months of trying to reach an out-of-court agreement with its creditors and bondholders, Warren Resources Inc. became one of the latest oil and natural gas producers to succumb to the commodities downturn, filing voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday.

Two more U.S. onshore operators, Linn Energy LLC and Penn Virginia Corp., have filed for Chapter 11 protection this week as the commodity price rout continues to claim more victims.

Two more U.S. onshore operators, Linn Energy LLC and Penn Virginia Corp., have filed for Chapter 11 protection this week as the commodity price rout continues to claim more victims.