...- Vital Energy Inc., an Oklahoma-based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company, has $456 million of 9.5% senior unsecured notes due in January 2025. We believe this could stress its liquidity position and risk a breach of one of its financial covenants if not addressed in the next several months ahead of the notes becoming current. - Furthermore, if the 2025 notes remain outstanding on July 29, 2024, this would trigger a springing maturity on its reserve-based lending (RBL) credit facility to that same date, adding further pressure to liquidity. - As a result, we placed all of our ratings on Vital Energy, including our 'B' issuer credit and issue-level ratings, on CreditWatch with negative implications. - The CreditWatch reflects the likelihood of a downgrade if the company is unable to refinance its $456 million of 9.5% senior unsecured notes due in January 2025, ahead of the notes becoming current in January 2024....
