Some companies may not escape financial trouble this year Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now To lower costs, some companies have struck merger deals The number of oil and natural gas companies in financial distress is starting to rise as investors lose interest, access to more credit is throttled, and companies struggle to live within cash flows, S&P Global Ratings said in a look at the finances of exploration-and-production companies midway through 2019. Consolidation through mergers that lower costs may not prove to be a solution as oil and gas prices stay low, the credit rating agency said, and bankruptcy may be the only option, even for companies that declared bankruptcy during the 2015-2017 oil price trough. “After a relatively quiet 2018 for oil and gas defaults, the sector appears to be back in the spotlight this year with 10 rated […]