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“Credit rating agency Fitch says defaults for oil and gas companies are already at the highest since 1999. Since the start of the third quarter, at least 12 oil and gas companies have defaulted on their debt. The ‘zombies’ bet that by shifting into survival mode they can hang on until oil prices recover, but the outlook is grim.”

Anna Driver and Tracy Rucinski, Reuters, “Zombies Appear in U.S. Oil Fields”