‘The next month is going to be absolutely critical’: analyst Photographer: Brittany Sowacke/Bloomberg The rally in global oil prices has stalled at the worst possible time for explorers, just as banks reassess credit lines crucial to their growth. This year’s reviews, due to start next month, will arrive with the industry nursing a nasty case of whiplash. Spot prices surged late last year on OPEC’s pledge to cut output, hitting $54.06 a barrel in New York. Since then, they’ve fallen 12 percent, undercut by rising U.S. rig counts. Futures contracts show longer-term prices deteriorating as well. A drop below $45 would likely spur credit-line reductions, raising the specter of cuts that crippled drillers a year ago, said Kraig Grahmann, a partner in Houston for law firm Haynes & Boone LLP . Between the end of 2015 and October, when credit lines were last reassessed, the average borrowing base for […]