Low oil prices have caused the number of rigs in operation in the U.S. to plummet by 60%

In the first half of this year, capital expenditures by independent U.
S.
-listed oil and gas companies exceeded operating cash flow by about $32 billion, close to the deficit of $37.
7 billion reported for the full year 2014, according to data and information provider Factset.

Data released by the International Energy Agency also shows that low oil prices have caused the number of rigs in operation in the United States to plummet by 60%.

According to reports, the boom in U.
S.
shale oil and gas has finally subsided
as oil prices closed below $42 a barrel.
The number of companies in bankruptcy or restructuring has been increasing, and the situation will become increasingly bleak
in the coming months.
Continued revenue declines, diminishing earnings and shrinking oil and gas reserves will limit the ability
of oil companies to refinance.

In mid-August, Samson Resources became the largest bankrupt oil company
in the oil price crash.
The Company announced that it is negotiating a restructuring plan to inject an additional US$450 million into the Company by the second lien holder in exchange for the entire equity interest
in the Company.
At the time, Gulf of Mexico drilling contractor Hercules Offshore announced that it had reached a bankruptcy agreement with creditors for a restructuring plan to convert $1.
2 billion into equity and raise $450 million in new capital
.

Data from the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration showed that U.
S.
oil production declined
in May and June.
U.
S.
crude oil production averaged 9.
3 million barrels per day in June, down from 9.
4 million barrels
in May, data showed.
Some analysts expect tight financials to constrain companies' ability to drill and complete new wells, and U.
S.
oil production will continue to decline
.