Two more publicly traded oil and natural gas companies, with combined debts of more than $5.8 billion, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas as the industry continues to suffer amid stubbornly low prices, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. Houston'sUltra Petroleum Corp. and Oklahoma-based Midstates Petroleum Co. separately filed for court protection Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Ultra, which has some $3.8 billion in debt — all of it unsecured — filed for bankruptcy after failing to reach a debt-restructuring deal with its lenders and bondholders, according to an affidavit filed by Chief Financial Officer Garland R. Shaw. Both companies, in court filings, pointed to persistently low commodity prices as the reason for their financial woes. Ultra, with 159 full-time employees, operates mainly in Wyoming's Pinedale Field, which produces natural gas. The company also owns properties in Utah, which produce primarily crude oil, and Pennsylvania, which produce natural gas. Midstates, which has 120 full-time workers, drills for crude and natural gas in Texas and Oklahoma. Read more.
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