W&T Offshore reports positive court finding on remaining surety provider claims

W&T Offshore announced that U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Palermo recommended denying two surety companies motions for preliminary injunction, through which they collectively asked for full monetization of over $100M dollars. The Court found, in relevant part, the sureties failed to demonstrate they would suffer irreparable harm if their cash collateral demands were not granted. Key highlights relating to the ruling include: Sureties’ motion for preliminary injunction, which would have required W&T to immediately post collateral, was categorically recommended to be denied; Sureties failed to carry a clear burden of proof to establish irreparable harm necessary to obtain a preliminary injunction; Ruling results in all current collateral requests by sureties being effectively nullified; The company will not be required to post collateral (if at all) until a determination on the merits of the pending lawsuit with the remaining surety providers; The previously-announced settlement agreement, together with this favorable Court ruling, represent significant positive outcomes for W&T. Tracy Krohn, W&T’s Chairman and CEO stated, “We are very pleased with the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation that the Sureties’ preliminary injunction motions be denied. This vindicates W&T’s decision to aggressively defend against unlawful predatory business practices. W&T looks forward to a day when independent operators can once again operate in the Gulf of America unhampered by collusion and unlawful pressures exerted by sureties’ unfettered market power. We could not be more pleased with the Court’s decision preventing unnecessary and unjustified collateral demands by abusive surety providers.”