Post-downturn bankruptcies enable oilfield services sector to reset financial balances

The rash of bankruptcy declarations and restructurings seen in the oilfield services sector over the past few years were driven by an oil price downturn and subsequent financial pressures. However, this wasn’t necessarily bad for the industry, as companies were able to use bankruptcy to deleverage debt from their balance sheets and position themselves for a strong recovery. In this interview from the 2022 IADC Contracts and Risk Management Conference in Houston, Texas, on 4 October, Phil Eisenberg and Rick Kuebel, Partners at Locke Lord, talk about how this use of bankruptcy was different from previous market cycles, and what this means for the industry moving forward.