New String of Oil|Company Bankruptcies

WILMINGTON, Del. (CN) — A string of oil-related bankruptcy filings this week brought to more than 200 the number of U.S. oil company bankruptcies since prices crashed two years ago, about half of them in Texas.     Houston-based Key Energy Services and three affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, listing $1.1 billion in assets and $1.2 billion in debt. Its largest creditor by far is The Bank of New York Mellon Trust, with $675 million in unsecured credit.     The Dallas law firm Haynes and Boone told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Key Energy’s filing brought the number of U.S. oil bankruptcy filings since 2015 to at least 180, about half of them in Texas.     Then Tuesday, Basic Energy Services and 27 affiliates filed for bankruptcy. The Fort Worth-based string of companies grew quickly during the fracking boom, until prices dropped. It supplies a variety of services, including conventional drilling, fracking and wastewater disposal. The company missed an $18 million interest payment in August.     Basic Energy’s largest unsecured creditor is $813 million owed to Wilmington Trust.     Also Monday, American Gilsonite Co. and four affiliates filed for bankruptcy, listing $100 million to $500 million in assets and debts. Gilsonite, also known as Uintaite, is a naturally occurring asphalt-like mineral used in lacquer, waterproofing and insulation. It is mainly found in the Uinta Basin of Utah and Colorado.