WBH Energy, one of many tiny shale oil and gas producers in Texas, has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming what may be the first U.S. oil company to do so since crude prices started tumbling six months ago.
It listed assets and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million in its filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas on Sunday.
The company could not be reached for comment.
The privately held company, based in Austin, has leases in the Barnett Combo Play of the Fort Worth Basin, which mainly produces gas and is not a significant field in the current U.S. oil boom that has lifted output to the highest level in decades.
A 50 percent slide in crude prices since June has prompted many producers to scale back plans for new wells or in some cases halt new drilling.
The bankruptcy petition number is 15-10004-hcm in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Texas (Austin).
