The American oil company Diamond Offshore Drilling has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of the unprecedentedly low oil prices.
For the first time in history, parties had to make additional payments last week to supply US oil.
The oil price plummeted because of the collapsed demand caused by the corona crisis and the price war that two major oil producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia, had unleashed.
Diamond Offshore Drilling owns offshore drilling platforms that pump fuel from a depth of more than three kilometres.
To keep those platforms profitable, the oil price must remain above $ 30 a barrel. Extracting oil from the sea is one of the most expensive methods of obtaining fuel.
The oil company cites acute payment problems as the reason for his request. The company did not pay interest on a loan in mid-April.
Market conditions have deteriorated “very rapidly” in recent months, the company said. Diamond Offshore Drilling’s debts add up to $ 2.6 billion. About 2500 employees can be left without a job.
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