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Two weeks after announcing it will shut down its money-losing oilsands project, insolvent Southern Pacific Resource Corp. said its first-lien creditors have filed to throw it into receivership.

“The effect of a receivership will make any recovery for unsecured creditors or shareholders very unlikely,” the Calgary-based junior producer warned in a brief news release issued Thursday afternoon.

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Southern Pacific obtained protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in January after it failed to find a buyer, partner or other source of funding to allow it to continue to service its debt and fix persistent operational problems at its STP-McKay thermal oilsands facility in northern Alberta.

It has continued to look for help under the supervision of court-appointed monitor PwC Canada, but said in mid-May it would “hibernate” the project to preserve capital.

Southern Pacific said in January it can’t afford to meet its obligations to lenders, stating it owed $135.5 million US under a first-lien term loan, $260 million Cdn on certain senior secured second-lien notes and $172.5 million Cdn in convertible unsecured debentures.