Frac pioneer BJ Services files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
HOUSTON – BJ Services Company, one of the pioneers of the fracing techniques behind America’s shale revolution, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday morning amid a severe downturn in oilfield services demand. The company had been in discussions to sell its cementing business, and a portion of its fracing operations.
A “severe downturn in activity and subsequent lack of liquidity resulted in an unmanageable capital structure”, Chief Executive Officer Warren Zemlak said of the filing. BJ Services listed assets and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion in its bankruptcy petition, filed in the Southern District of Texas.
Regarding its operations in Canada, BJ Services said it would seek protection under the Companies’ Creditors Agreement Act in order to facilitate an orderly wind-down of its Canadian operations.
