Lonestar Resources US Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, becoming the latest energy company to succumb to high debt, lagging crude prices and dismal fuel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The company’s assets and liabilities were in the range of $500 million to $1 billion, according to a court filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Texas-based shale driller had announced a restructuring support agreement in September with its largest shareholders to eliminate about $390 million in debt obligations and preferred equity interests. The new coronavirus-led lockdowns, which decimated travel and fuel demand, have forced many shale producers to halt oil drilling, leaving them with no source of cash to repay their massive debts.
