The drop in oil prices has created a huge mountain of debt and the lack of financing has triggered a wave of bankruptcies in the US fracturing industry. The collapse of oil prices in the spring caused a decline in drilling activities, especially in the USA. The raw material is said to have become almost 50 percent cheaper, which most states were not prepared for. As a result of this situation, several fracking companies, including well-known major manufacturers, had to close down several drilling platforms or even file for insolvency. Analysts are already of the opinion that the industry is hitting an unpredictable wave. Almost 40 percent are expected to leave the fracking scene by the end of the year. But so far the resources do not yield any profits for the manufacturers, with fixed costs at around 50-60 per barrel, making the industry less attractive for investors. It comes to a vicious circle – to be able to play in the market you need money, but in this situation financial aid is rather far away.

In recent years, the US has emerged as the world’s largest oil producer and this is partly due to shale oil companies. But without new wells, production is quickly exhausted, so debts are incurred. After ten years of shale oil boom, investors gradually realised that a profitable business is still a long way off. To this day, companies are still fracturing oil to their own detriment, and the shortage of money is being financed with new loans. In the ten years, 40 leading companies in the industry lost almost 200 billion dollars more than they earned.