One-third of U.S. oil companies could face bankruptcy
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MarketWatch) Crude-oil prices plunged more than 5% on Monday to trade near $30 a barrel, making the specter of bankruptcy ever more likely for a significant chunk of the U.S. oil industry.
Three major investment banks Morgan Stanley MS, -0.74% , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -0.81% and Citigroup Inc. C, +0.02% now expect the price of oil to crash through the $30 threshold and into $20 territory in short order as a result of Chinas slowdown, the U.S. dollars appreciation and the fact that drillers from Houston to Riyadh wont quit pumping despite the oil glut.
As many as a third of American oil-and-gas producers could tip toward bankruptcy and restructuring by mid-2017, according to Wolfe Research. Survival, for some, would be possible if oil rebounded to at least $50, according to analysts. The benchmark price of U.S. crude settled at $31.41 a barrel, setting a 12-year low. ................(more)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/plunging-prices-could-force-a-third-of-us-oil-firms-into-bankruptcy-2016-01-11?dist=lcountdown