U.S. junk energy cost of funds plunged after 2020 spike It hasn’t been this cheap for shale explorers to raise money on the high-yield bond market since oil was at $100 a barrel in 2014, so they’re jumping on the opportunity to refinance debt at lower rates. Drillers have already sold $11 billion in new junk-rated energy debt through the first 10 weeks of the year, and this quarter is shaping up to be the busiest in at least half a decade, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. After the pandemic brought shale’s debt-fueled boom to an abrupt halt last year in a historical market crash that saw oil prices go negative, many explorers got shut out from capital markets and went bankrupt. Since then, drillers have sought to refrain from embarking on another growth spurt and have pledged to focus instead on balancing their books. But a borrowing opportunity like […]