Independent oil and gas producers in the US took Monday’s session pretty hard, with many companies trading their way lower as investors continue to brace themselves for the possibility of a Chinese economy that has recently has looked like it might be entering the first stages of serious contraction.

It is unclear at the moment what exactly could happen in the event that China is no longer able to single-handedly drive global demand for commodities, but with US production pushing stockpile higher on the supply side, there is no doubt that a number of companies will be in serious trouble, especially those whose business is focused around natural gas rather than crude oil.

The following five independent oil & gas stocks closed Monday’s session on losses and high relative volume (over 2 the 3-month average), indicating that investors and traders were fleeing from these stocks for what could very well be a good reason.

PrimeEnergy Corp. (PNRG)

Market-Cap / Price: $126.30 million / $52.30

Average Volume / Relative Volume: 1.48 thousand / 2.46

Performance: -15.04 percent

 

Linn Co, LLC (LNCO)

Market-Cap / Price: $1.37 billion / $26.71

Average Volume / Relative Volume: 1.52 million / 2.56

Performance: -5.25 percent

 

QR Energy, LP (QRE)

Market-Cap / Price: $1.04 billion / $17.80

Average Volume / Relative Volume: 315.10 thousand / 3.61

Performance: -4.81 percent

 

Tengasco Inc. (TGC)

Market-Cap / Price: $29.21 million / $0.48

Average Volume / Relative Volume: 212.78 thousand / 3.69

Performance: -11.09 percent

 

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (BCEI)

Market-Cap / Price: $1.87 billion / $46.33

Average Volume / Relative Volume: 672.93 thousand / 3.96

Performance: -7.17 percent