The collapse of the oil price has snared its first West Australian victim with Red Fork Energy losing the support of its major lender.

The Perth-based company drills shale rock onshore in the United States, producing oil and gas.

But it is completely exposed to the US shale industry, which analysts say has become unviable at current oil prices.

The oil price has tumbled 40 per cent in recent months, dragging down the value and margins of oil and gas producers.

Red Fork's major lender, Guggenheim Corporate Funding, called in the receivers this week.

It has appointed KordaMentha as receiver and Ferrier Hodgson will act as administrator.

Macquarie private wealth resource analyst Bevan Sturgess-Smith said most players in the shale oil and gas industry were heavily in debt.

"Their costs of production are a bit higher, they've only been in the game really for a few years so their debt structure is a little bit higher than other companies, more mature companies," he said.

"Those two things are really putting pressure on them so with the price where it is they're just not making any margin."

Rapid development blamed for price freefall

The rapid development of America's onshore shale reserves over the past five years is partly blamed for the price freefall.

Mr Sturgess-Smith said many WA companies jumped on the boom, taking on massive amounts of debt to capitalise on a relatively untested technology.

"There was a number of them that started in that area in the last four or five years," he said.

"They saw an opportunity, the land was becoming available, I guess no-one was really quite ready to take on that technology.

"These companies took the risk and it started working out pretty well for them but the debt structures that a lot of them have, their servicing costs of debt and their cost of production is quite high so it's going to be a struggle for them if the oil price doesn't improve."

The shale industry has transformed America from a net importer of oil to a potential exporter but created a glut of global oil supplies.

When OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) nations met last month, markets expected them to cut production to prop up falling prices.

But that did not happen.

"OPEC would prefer that the US start buying oil again from them," Mr Sturgess-Smith said.

"So yes, there's a theory that OPEC is trying to force out these shale oil producers in the US - if that price doesn't move they potentially could be successful."

Stock Analysis's Peter Strachan agrees.

"By the middle of 2015, we're going to see oil production plateau and if this oil price stays where it is for another 12 months after that, oil production in the United States will fall by about 500 barrels of oil a day," he said.

"So the Saudis will have had their way, they would have slowed down the whole shale gale and they will be able to assert some authority over the market."

Lenders at risk due to over-leveraging

Analysts say companies tied to the onshore shale reserves are not the only ones under threat, with lenders also at risk.

Mr Strachan said the banks were over-leveraging the industry.

"They've lent a lot of money to the industry on the basis the oil price would be $US100 forever, they bet OPEC would continue to adjust its supplies to keep the oil price at that level," he said.

"That's because OPEC needs a $100 a barrel just to keep the public servants employed because the revenues to run these countries largely come from royalties and taxes from production of oil."

He said if OPEC continues to flood the market, other shale oil and gas producers were also at risk of collapse.

"So, now the price of oil is down where it is, the shale gas producers might find they are unable to service their debt, so there would be a lot of non-performing loans," Mr Strachan said.

"By some reports, $15 trillion of funds has been lent to this business, so it may well be in fact that it's not the oil companies that are in trouble, it's the banks.

"Over the next six months, I'll be watching very closely to see how these banks react to their debt, if they come back to the company and say we want our money back, the company says we've got no way of repaying it, the bank will end up owning these oil and gas assets."