April is the month energy companies have been dreading

Oil rig

(Getty Images)

Some energy companies were not looking forward to April.

This month, lenders will recalculate the value of the assets companies used as collateral to get the credit that fueled the shale boom.

Because oil prices have crashed, many of those things have lost value; the loans are also recalculated based on the average price of oil in the past 12 months.

And now, banks are preparing to cut the lines of credit to some of these companies by as much as 30% according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sabine Oil & Gas was one of the first companies that warned about a potential default on $2 billion, Bloomberg highlighted. In its annual report published Tuesday, Sabine raised "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern due to the uncertainty associated with its ability to repay its outstanding debt obligations as they become due."

Last week, we reported that according to Moody's, energy names appear the most on the ratings agency's list of companies with debt rated B3 negative and lower.

Before that, Quicksilver Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because it's struggling to settle its $2.35 billion debt. And earlier in March, American Eagle Energy missed the first $10 million interest payment to its bondholders, and entered a 30-day grace period.

Oil prices have been under fresh pressure as a deal with Iran over its nuclear program may boost its exports, and flood a market already brimming with supply.

Head over to Bloomberg for the full story »

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