Why are bankruptcy laws needed?

Over the past couple of years, there have been a wave of new insolvency and bankruptcy laws introduced in the GCC. With the exception of Qatar and Kuwait, all other GCC countries have now introduced new bankruptcy laws. As for Oman, its new bankruptcy law is due to come into effect on 1 July 2020.

Advances in production technology have led to an unprecedented supply of natural gas in the United States, putting downward pressure on market prices. Both the Henry Hub cash price and the NYMEX price closed below $2.00/MMBtu at times in the past month and prices continue to hover in the $2.00 range.

On January 6, 2012, Judge Thomas Bennett of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama (the "Court") issued a 57-page opinion in the chapter 9 bankruptcy case of Jefferson County, Alabama (the "County") on several critical jurisdictionally related issues raised by the state court appointed receiver of the County's sewer system, the indenture trustee for the special revenue warrants for the sewer system (the "Indenture Trustee") and certain other joining creditors.