Hi-Crush Inc., a supplier of sand used in fracking, is the latest company in the oil and gas sector to be pushed into bankruptcy by low crude prices and the disruption from the coronavirus pandemic that has roiled the energy industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hi-Crush filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. The filing comes weeks after the Houston-based company disclosed it was negotiating terms of a bankruptcy filing with its key creditors. Publicly traded Hi-Crush said last month in a regulatory filing that during the first quarter of 2020 it “faced a sharp and rapid decline, which was driven by a decrease in crude oil prices and overall oil field activity” primarily due to an oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hi-Crush also said it was hurt by falling demand for oil because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hi-Crush said in a regulatory filing it has taken several steps to preserve its cash and cut costs, including cutting its expected capital spending for the year by 40 percent and laying off about 60 percent of its workforce.
