Friends and family in the business believe this collapse may be irreversible. As do industry insiders. Shut-in wells need $40/barrel just to break even and that price is a distant memory not likely to return in the foreseeable future even by the industry’s own forecasts. The main storage facility for refinery supplies in Cushing, Oklahoma is full. The pipeline complex running into it is full. There is no demand and even in the coming economic recovery, the demand will likely not ever be the same. These market driven implications for the industry are already a major factor in climate change as CO2 emissions world wide are down 6% so far this year. Literally, many in the industry believe it could largely disappear. Post pandemic, this can offer a solid basis for addressing climate change with a set of totally different assumptions than even a few months ago. Stay tuned.
