Because they were already over leveraged businesses that shouldn't have been given access to stimulus capital. This is exactly the problem causing "zombie companies" [1], companies that are only able to survive with cheap capital (similar to the VC model funding business models that are never going to be profitable at any scale).
And of all companies to provide stimulus for, oil and gas is not what we should be wasting even more fiat on. This is a handout, plain and simple, no different than the governor of North Dakota trying to prop up a coal plant that hasn't been profitable in years that the owners themselves want to shut down [2] [3].
And of all companies to provide stimulus for, oil and gas is not what we should be wasting even more fiat on. This is a handout, plain and simple, no different than the governor of North Dakota trying to prop up a coal plant that hasn't been profitable in years that the owners themselves want to shut down [2] [3].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_company
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/11/north-dakotas-largest-power-...
[3] https://www.utilitydive.com/news/north-dakota-governor-oppos...