A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday gave troubled Tomball oil-field services company BJ Services seven days to continue operations and resume negotiations with lenders.

In his order, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur put pressure on BJ Services and creditors to return to the negotiating table to save as many jobs as possible and possibly prevent the death of the nearly 150-year-old company.

Unable to reach an agreement with lenders, BJ services filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. Under the worst scenario, the case could end in a Chapter 7 liquidation in which the company would be dissolved, broken up and sold off in pieces with more than a thousand workers losing their jobs.

Downturn:BJServices files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

"I am not prepared to walk away from 1,250 jobs on the first day of the case," Judge Isgur said.

BJ Services, which has oil well cementing and hydraulic fracturing crews deployed in shale plays across the United States and Canada, owes nearly $357 million to lenders and another $134 million to vendors. The company, already hit hard by the oil bust caused by the coronavirus pandemic, saw a $75 million deal that would have saved the company fall apart Thursday.

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Before filing for bankruptcy, BJ Services had offers on the table to sell its cementing business and part of its hydraulic fracturing business in two deals that would have saved more than 500 jobs. Judge Isgur, however, questioned bankruptcy liquidation sales as the only outcome for the case.

"I'm not prepared to limit the range of alternatives that are going to be discussed," Judge Isgur said. "If we're going to save jobs at the company, the company needs to be prepared to consider reorganization."

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Judge gives BJ Services a week to find bankruptcy alternative - Houston Chronicle