\t\t\t\tUnpaid debt incurred by oil companies to pay for new drilling equipment and rigs could lead to a number of them defaulting. According to CNN, many of these companies had expected prices for oil to hit the $100 range when they incurred the debt and are now contending with oil prices of about $45 and no sign of the original expectation being met in the near future. <\/p>\n
Unlike a year ago, when low interest rates and junk bond markets helped spur the energy boom in the United States and inexpensive credit let companies invest in new technologies for oil drilling, there has been a rise in credit costs. At ETF.com’s recent Fixed Income Conference, DoubleLine Capital founder Jeffrey Gundlach said that while US production of oil has slowed, the inventories for domestic crude oil levels have stayed high. <\/p>\n