Denver Oil Firm Files For Bankruptcy

Two more energy companies operating in North Dakota's Bakken oil patch have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the midst of slumping crude prices.

The Bismarck Tribune reports Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Samson Resources and Denver-based American Eagle Energy plan to sell off Bakken assets to pay debts.

Between June and late September, 10 oil and gas companies filed for bankruptcy. Others have agreed to sell shale oil acreage and assets in North Dakota. Bismarck-based MDU Resources Corp. also is trying to sell off its oil and gas exploration subsidiary, Fidelity Exploration and Production Co.

North Dakota sweet crude on Tuesday was fetching about $36 a barrel — about half of what it sold for a year ago. The number of drilling rigs in North Dakota has plummeted by nearly two-thirds.