Mammoth Energy Still Owed $20M for 2017 Puerto Rico Storm Work

Mammoth Energy Still Owed $20M for 2017 Puerto Rico Storm Work

Mammoth Energy Services is still chasing payment for hurricane restoration work performed nearly nine years ago, OK Energy Today reports, with $20 million still outstanding from Puerto Rico’s power authority as of June 2026.

Market Impact

Mammoth Energy subsidiary Cobra Acquisitions deployed crews to Puerto Rico in October 2017 to help rebuild the island’s shattered electrical grid after Hurricane Maria hit as a category 4 storm with 155 mph winds. Cobra’s work under a contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) ran through March 2019, but collecting payment took far longer than the job itself. PREPA had already filed for bankruptcy in 2017, and it wasn’t until July 2024, roughly seven years after the storm, that Cobra reached a release and settlement agreement with PREPA and the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico.

At the time of that settlement, Cobra had approximately $359.1 million in receivables outstanding. PREPA paid Cobra about $168.4 million in 2024 under the agreement, but according to Mammoth Energy’s most recent 10-Q filing with the SEC, PREPA still owed the company $20 million as of the end of June 2026.

What It Means for Subcontractors

• Disaster-recovery contracts can carry multi-year collection tails: Cobra’s Puerto Rico invoices took nearly seven years to reach a settlement agreement (2017 storm work, July 2024 settlement) and remain partially unpaid nine years later.
• Bankrupt or financially distressed utilities and municipalities pose real collection risk. PREPA’s 2017 bankruptcy filing directly delayed Cobra’s payment process for years, a scenario subs should factor into bid pricing and contract terms when working with financially troubled public utilities.
• Even after a formal settlement, full payment isn’t guaranteed on a fixed timeline. PREPA paid $168.4 million of the roughly $359.1 million owed in 2024, but $20 million remained unpaid as of June 2026, meaning subs should build extended AR aging assumptions into cash-flow projections for storm-recovery contracts.
• Companies bidding hurricane or disaster restoration work should review counterparty financial health and existing bankruptcy proceedings before signing, and negotiate payment milestones or security provisions given the precedent of multi-year receivable delays on this contract.