Dune Energy Inc., a Houston-based oil and gas explorer with operations in Texas and Louisiana, has sought chapter 11 protection following a failed merger, making the company the latest victim of falling oil prices, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The bankruptcy filing was triggered when revenue dropped and a deal to merge with competitor Eos Petro Inc. fell through, according to court filings yesterday in Austin, Texas. Eos backed out of the deal on March 4, Dune said. The company will seek court approval to sell its assets at an auction June 9 in Houston, according to its filings. Dune, which said no bids have been made in advance, listed assets of $229.5 million against debt of $144.2 million. It asked the court to approve a loan of as much as $10 million to finance operations in bankruptcy, with Bank of Montreal and CIT Capital Securities LLC as lenders. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-09/dune-energy-falls-to-oil-price-drop-in-texas-bankruptcy-filing
Make sure to read the March ABI Journal feature article that predicts a tough year for oil and gas producers. http://www.abi.org/journal/new-energy-crisis-too-much-good-thing-debt
For further analysis of oil and gas bankruptcies, be sure to pick up a copy of ABI’s When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy. http://www.abi.org/books/when-gushers-go-dry-essentials-oil-gas-bankruptcy
