OREANDA-NEWS. Bloomberg agency reports that Whiting Petroleum, an American company that was one of the leaders in the shale oil market few years ago, filed for bankruptcy.

The oil producer was not able to pay this week a debt of 262 million dollars, and the total debt of the company reached 2.2 billion dollars. As a result, the owners decided to ask to write off the debt in exchange for a complete loss of control over the entity.

Bloomberg points out that Whiting Petroleum’s problems began long before the outbreak of coronavirus infection. If five years ago it was one of the leaders in developing oil fields in North Dakota State, after that its financial situation gradually worsened. Its competitors in the shale oil market were more active in Texas, where production costs were lower. The epidemic, which was accompanied by a sharp drop in oil prices, accelerated the growth of the debt burden of Whiting Petroleum and led to its bankruptcy.