Ezra Holdings Files for Bankruptcy in US

Ezra  has been facing hostile actions from creditors at home and abroad as it struggles to recover from a slump in oil prices over the past three years.

 

The company filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, according to a stock exchange filing on Sunday. Ezra will hold an informal meeting as soon as "reasonably practicable" to update and provide further information on the Chapter 11 filing to holders of its debt, it said in a separate statement. 

 

Ezra is one of several Singapore offshore and marine services firms that have been hit by a downturn in oil prices since in 2014.

 

The company has also reached out to and intends to work with the Securities Investors Association (Singapore).

 

The company's stock lost a fifth of its value in early March after it disclosed it had provided guarantees on nearly $900 million in liabilities and loans of Emas Chiyoda Subsea, an affiliate the also filed for U.S. bankruptcy.

 

Business Times said that the latest filing adds to the troubles faced by offshore oil and gas services companies in Singapore whose contracts have been pushed back or canceled as a slide in crude prices forced explorers to cut spending.

 

Swiber Holdings Ltd and Swissco Holdings Ltd earlier won court approval to reorganize their debt, while others like Ezion Holdings Ltd and KrisEnergy Ltd. sought and won forbearance from creditors and lenders.