A New Sign of Fear for U.S. Drillers
- Prolonged price slump alters outlook for debt holders
- Investors say, ‘OK, this company may not actually make it’
Precision Drilling oil rig operators near Mentone, Texas, U.S.
Photographer: Matthew Busch/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For U.S. drillers, the dreaded correlation between stocks and bonds is back.
Earlier this year, while equity investors were killing them, the companies could bask in the warm glow of bondholders’ confidence. Then the U.S. price of oil tumbled below $50 a barrel and kept sinking. Natural gas took a dive, too. That’s when the warm glow turned cold.