SandRidge Energy Inc., an early player in the American shale boom and onetime Wall Street darling, became the latest oil and gas company to file for bankruptcy Monday in what is becoming the largest wave of corporate restructurings since the financial crisis.

The Oklahoma City-based driller is the fifth energy company to file for bankruptcy in five days, part of an accelerating parade of defaults in a sector that has been struggling with low oil prices for more than 18 months.

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