CBM producer Walter Energy files for Chapter 11

July 28, 2015
Walter Energy Inc., Birmingham, Ala., and its US subsidiaries filed for restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Northern District Court of Alabama.

Walter Energy Inc., Birmingham, Ala., and its US subsidiaries filed for restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Northern District Court of Alabama.

Walter Energy produces coalbed methane although its primarily business is providing coal for steel producers in Europe, Asia, and South America. The bankruptcy did not involve Walter Energy’s holdings in Canada and abroad.

Walter Energy Chief Executive Officer Walt Scheller said, “We must do what is necessary to adapt to the new reality in our industry.”

Walter Energy has sufficient cash to assure that vendors, suppliers, and other business partners will be paid in full for goods and services that they provide during the reorganization process, the company said.

Black Warrior Methane Corp. is owned by Jim Walter Resources Inc., now a Walter Energy subsidiary that produces CBM.

Some 1,440 CBM wells in the Walter Black Warrior basin are owned by Walter Energy, which acquired the assets from Highmount Exploration & Production LLC in May 2010. The wells are spread over 230,000 acres in Tuscaloosa and Walker counties in central Alabama.

Blackstone Advisory Partners LP was retained by Walter Energy as its financial advisor and Alix Partners LLP as its restructuring advisor.