Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd. has filed bankruptcy in its home country and the U.S. and said that it intends to restructure, Bloomberg News reported. The Calgary-based oil and gas production company said its existing lenders have offered to provide as much as US$11 million in financing to fund its proposed restructuring. COPL said it has requested the immediate suspension on trading of its shares on both the London Stock Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange. COPL has sought a form of chapter 11 protection in Canada and filed for bankruptcy in Delaware to protect its U.S. assets, according to court documents. The company’s oil- and gas-production work is centered on Wyoming. The company said that its day-to-day operations will continue as normal and it intends to continue paying its suppliers but it “believes there is little prospect for a return to shareholders or bond holders.” The bankruptcy filing comes after COPL announced in January that it had appointed restructuring adviser Peter Kravitz as its interim chief executive officer. Kravitz is a founding principal of advisory firm Province LLC and worked on numerous corporate restructurings, according to the company. COPL announced the departure of its chief financial officer last month.
