U.S. shale company Whiting becomes first major bankruptcy of oil-price crash

U.S. shale company Whiting becomes first major bankruptcy of oil-price crash

(Reuters) - Whiting Petroleum Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the U.S. shale producer said on Wednesday, the first publicly traded casualty of crashing crude oil prices that are expected to bite into record U.S. output.. Many shale oil and gas producers are faced with burdensome debt loads and have cut spending aggressively as oil prices have plunged by about two-thirds this year.. As of Dec. 31, Whiting had $2.8 billion in debt and more than $585 million in cash on its balance sheet.. Whiting was expected to produce about 42 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2020.. PJT Partners is acting as financial adviser for creditors..