Oil and gas companies that took a lot of loans and issued five- and seven-year notes in the “exuberance” years before 2014 are likely to get more favorable terms from lenders when they negotiate refinancing of debts worth a total of US$400 billion due by the end of 2019—because of the higher oil prices that boost their credit profiles. According to data by Thomson Reuters LPC, the oil and gas sector has a combined US$833.3 billion of loans outstanding. Of those, US$399.5 billion is maturing by the end of next year, while US$138.4 billion is due by the end of this year. Higher oil prices and increased oil production in the United States are also boosting the companies’ financial positions and they start to generate higher cash flows and boost profit margins. “Back between the years of 2012 and 2014, there was an irrational exuberance going on where oil […]