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Canada’s export credit agency on Wednesday said it would backstop loans to hard hit oil and gas producers, in the latest move by Ottawa to free up credit for the struggling energy industry.

Banks are reviewing borrowing limits in the sector and could head off bankruptcies of small and mid-sized energy firms pummeled by the collapse in oil prices.

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Canadian banks have eased some lending standards but are expected to chop credit lines as they recalculate energy companies’ borrowing bases to account for a 75% drop in U.S. oil prices since the start of the year.

The “dramatic fall in prices will force borrowing base redeterminations downwards, in some cases, below the level where current facilities are drawn,” Export Development Canada (EDC) said in a slide presentation, dated April 17, that was seen by Reuters.

Under the program, the agency will backstop up to 75% of a bank loan, to a maximum of C$100 million, for at least one year, the document said.