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This comes as Australia continues to compete awaited; analysts have been predicting that the
with Qatar for the top spot in global LNG exports company would enter bankruptcy proceedings
– with the US having become the third-largest since oil prices began to crash in March.
exporter of the fuel in 2019. Indeed, the company was struggling prior
to that to pay down its debt, valued at $9.5bn at
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping end-2019.
the global LNG sector then please click here for Chesapeake made a name for itself as one of
NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor. the pioneers of the shale gas revolution, racking
up billions of dollars’ worth of debt in the pro-
Middle East: A wider view cess. The company had been trying to pay down
Regional steps are being taken to continue the its balance under the leadership of CEO Doug
move away from the ructions and ramifications Lawler, who also tried to pivot the firm towards
of the oil production cuts and oil sprice crash. No oil production. The move proved ill-timed, as
doubt we shall return to these matters, but for the two collapses in oil prices since 2014 have slowed
moment the net is cast wider. Chesapeake’s debt-reduction efforts and affected Chesapeake and
Highlighted this week is ADNOC’s sale of the profitability of its new oil assets.
20% and 15% stakes in its refining division, rais- In a June 28 statement, Chesapeake said the Lilis are the latest
ing $5.8bn. That deal covered the 837,000 bar- restructuring support agreement it had reached
rel per day Ruwais refining complex, an aging with its lenders will allow it to eliminate around in a growing list
85,000 bpd plant and a 1,900-km pipeline net- $7bn of its debt.
work.Pipeline developments are in focus in Iran, For its part, Lilis had $115mn in debt under of bankruptcies
whose president has officially launched work on its revolving credit agreement as of the end of in the North
an oil pipeline linking the Persian Gulf port of 2019. The company, which is a pure-play Per-
Goreh in Bushehr province to Jask on the Sea of mian Basin producer, announced this week that American oil
Oman. Construction work on this link, which the restructuring plan it had agreed with credi-
will bypass the Strait of Hormuz, is understood tors would eliminate almost $35mn of its debt. and gas industry
to have begun nearly two months ago. Lilis cited the downturn in commodity prices
Meanwhile, Iraq’s armed forces have taken during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since 2015
on one of the Iranian-backed militias, in a devel- as the reason for its Chapter 11 filing, saying it
opment that may point to a potential calming had explored a variety of options for cutting
of matters in Baghdad. It remains to be seen costs, improving its liquidity and addressing
whether Mohammad Khatami, the country’s debt maturities.
newly-installed president, will be able to exert The companies are the latest in a growing
his authority over the various parties in this frac- list of bankruptcies in the North American oil
tious country. and gas industry since 2015, many of which are
shale drillers. According to law firm Haynes
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping and Boone, more than 200 North American oil
the Middle East’s oil and gas sector then please click and gas producers, owing more than $130bn in
here for NewsBase’s MEOG Monitor. debt collectively, filed for bankruptcy between
the beginning of 2015 and May 2020. This year
North American shale shifts alone, at least 20 companies had gone bankrupt
Two high-profile shale drillers, Chesapeake by May.
Energy and Lilis Energy, have filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection, having been hit hard If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
by the collapse in crude prices. the North American oil and gas sector then please click
In Chesapeake’s case, the filing has long been here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 25•June•2020