It seems the price of oil has stabilized, moving slightly up or down rather than taking dramatic shifts. If this pattern holds, how will this impact the challenges companies will face in the next few months or for the rest of the year?

We are already seeing some of the benefits of increasing price stability. Several energy companies have accessed the equity markets and high yield debt markets in the last couple of weeks — including some companies that market speculators thought would have a tough time getting new debt and equity. This trend definitely is partially the result of less price volatility — but it also reflects a view by many companies that crude prices are not likely to increase significantly anytime soon — and so they might as well access the markets now if they can, even though they are paying a pretty high price for the financing they are receiving.

It’s worth noting that a number of analysts — certainly not all, but some — are predicting a sharp (although temporary) drop in crude prices — possibly into the 20’s — before prices improve.