Cobalt International Energy Inc., a publicly traded company whose major investors include Carlyle Group and Paulson & Co., filed for bankruptcy yesterday, about a month after warning that a chapter 11 reorganization was possible, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. A host of factors — the failed sale of operations in Angola, lawsuits related to its business in the West African nation, a prolonged downturn in the exploration and production industry, and nearly $3 billion in debt and looming interest payments — led the company to seek protection from creditors in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Chief Financial Officer David Powell said in a filing. Cobalt’s main assets are in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico and in the waters off the coasts of the Republic of Angola in West Africa. Only one of its assets, Heidelberg, which is 140 miles off the Louisiana coast in 5,300 feet of water, is currently producing oil. Its revenue, however, isn’t enough to help pay for the development of other assets, the company said.
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