(Reuters) - Canada's Pacific Exploration & Production Corp (>> Pacific Exploration and Production Corp) said on Monday it chose not to make an interest payment due March 28, making it the first Toronto-listed oil and gas company in the last one year to delay a payment.
The company, due to make a $25.6 million interest payment next Monday, said it was working with debtholders to restructure debt. The company has a 30-day grace period.
Pacific Exploration warned on Friday that its auditor had raised significant doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
The company suffered a major setback in March last year, when Colombia's state-run Ecopetrol (>> Ecopetrol SA) said it would not extend its contract with Pacific Exploration to operate Colombia's highest-producing Rubiales oilfield.
The decision on interest payment follows a Wall Street Journal report last week that Pacific Exploration was evaluating six buyout offers to avoid bankruptcy.
The company had a long-term debt of $5.38 billion and cash and cash-equivalents of $342.7 million in the year ended December.
(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)