E&P Oil Firms Using Stock Sales To De-Lever

While not entirely guaranteed, there was an "element of certainty" associated with the funding that suggested some type of capital commitment on the part of CS, sources said.

"The capital markets have improved. The window is opening up for a lot of these companies," said Gabriele Sorbara, E&P analyst at Topeka Capital Markets.

"You've seen companies enter the capital markets to fund their 2015 budgets, ensure they don't trip their loan covenants should oil prices remain depressed, or just simply to shore up their balance sheets."

Adding to the wave of recapitalizations, Concho Resources secured roughly $600m on a capital-committed stock sale after the market close Thursday.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, sole books, is looking to off-load its purchase of 5.6m shares at $108.00-$109.50, versus a $112.97 last sale, with final pricing due Friday morning.

Going on Offense?

The equity raises may not be entirely defensive.

Newfield, for example, is using the equity funding to fully repay the $610m it has drawn on a revolving credit facility, as it negotiates increasing the size of the facility from $1.4bn to $1.8bn.