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A pumpjack operates above an oil well at night in the Bakken Formation on the outskirts of Williston, North Dakota. Bruin E&P Partners has emerged from bankruptcy, which allowed the Houston oil and gas company to eliminate the majority of its debt off the books.
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A pumpjack operates above an oil well at night in the Bakken Formation on the outskirts of Williston, North Dakota. Bruin E&P Partners has emerged from bankruptcy, which allowed the Houston oil and gas
… more
Photo: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg
A pumpjack operates above an oil well at night in the Bakken Formation on the outskirts of Williston, North Dakota. Bruin E&P Partners has emerged from bankruptcy, which allowed the Houston oil and gas company to eliminate the majority of its debt off the books.
less
A pumpjack operates above an oil well at night in the Bakken Formation on the outskirts of Williston, North Dakota. Bruin E&P Partners has emerged from bankruptcy, which allowed the Houston oil and gas
… more
Photo: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg
Bruin E&P Partners has emerged from bankruptcy that allowed the Houston oil and gas company to eliminate most of its debt.
The company, backed by private equity firm ArcLight, eliminated more than $840 million of nearly $1.1 billion of debt from its balance sheet after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week.
“Bruin has been able to undergo an extremely efficient and uncontentious Chapter 11 proceeding due to the support of our stakeholders, including our vendors, suppliers, regulatory agencies, banking group, and additional members of our capital structure,” CEO Matt Steele said in a statement.
Bruin emerged from bankruptcy with a new board of directors, composed of Kevin Asarnow, Mark Bisso, Richard J. Doleshek, Mike Wichterich, and Matthew Steele. The company said it also has access to a new $230 million revolving line of credit.
BRUIN BANKRUPTCY: Bruin E&P files for bankruptcy
The privately-held company, which is focused on oil and gas production in North Dakota, filed for bankruptcy in July after its lenders reduced the company’s credit line, cutting its lifeline to remain in operation. At the time of its bankruptcy filing, Bruin had $11 million on hand.
Bruin joins a growing number of U.S. energy companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out demand for petroleum products and sent prices tumbling. Eighteen oil and gas companies filed for bankruptcy in the second quarter, including Chesapeake Energy, Ultra Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum.
Since the last oil bust of 2014-16, more than 231 oil and gas producers have filed for bankruptcy, bringing more than $152 billion in debt to court, according to Haynes and Boone, a Dallas law firm that has been tracking North American energy bankruptcies since 2015.
Bruin, founded in 2015, was focused on acquiring and developing oil and gas properties in the Bakken Shale and Three Forks formations in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. The company, which has 134 employees, operates 475 wells across 155,558 acres in North Dakota. The company reported operating revenue of $582 million in 2019.