Posted on 04/19/2020 6:18:59 PM PDT by brownwill6767
Seth Aldridge was at the tail end of a 12-hour night shift when he got the call at 6 a.m.
The voice on the other end said he had just lost his job as an oil field pumper for Occidental Petroleum in the Permian Basin.
“It was a shock to get the call, for sure,” said Aldridge, a 34-year-old resident of Lea County. “You see it coming, but you never really think … or you hope it’s not you that gets that ax.”
The ax is falling throughout energy-rich southeastern New Mexico as crude prices have plummeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a swift and stunning reversal for an area of the state that until last month had been riding high on the greatest oil boom in its history.
(Excerpt) Read more at santafenewmexican.com ...
Within the span of just around a month, that boom has turned to a bust. Serious doubts have now been cast over the short- and even medium-term future of oil and gas production in the area, as producers shut down wells, idle drilling rigs and say goodbye to workers.
“We’re seeing layoffs, we’re seeing equipment stacked in yards and we are seeing primarily the lower-volume wells shut in,” said Rep. Larry Scott, who, in addition to representing Hobbs in the state House, is the owner of Lynx Petroleum.
Projections reflect that pessimism. Daniel Fine, an oil and gas researcher with New Mexico Tech, estimates oil output on New Mexico’s side of the Permian in the second quarter of this year will fall to less than half of what it was before the new coronavirus outbreak.
Nothing is permanent in the Permian particularly during a pandemic.
I drove through Hobbs last month. Lots of motels, apartments, and restaurants going up. A lot of banks are going to take it in the shorts.
Nothing to do with the pandemic, everything to do with 20 dollar a barrel oil.
Greenies are ecstatic!
I am optimistic about oil companies and have bought a few shares-however, I am not an agressive buyer at this time.
Yes. But the $20 oil is a direct result of the pandemic.
Now is the time to ban the import of foreign oil.
It is also time to fill the SPR with domestic oil.
It is not OK to let the domestic oil industry die.
Wise man.
The firms that is really raking it in over these shutdowns is Amazon. They hired another 100,000 workers a few weeks back because all these retail outlets are shut and people in lockdown were put in a position where they had to buy nearly everything from online where Amazon is king.
Their stock price is currently trading near all time highs.
Hindsight.
It’s a result of Saudi Arabia and Russia having a pissing match. Nothing to do with COVID
I have been through $12 oil.
Maybe this time, we will get rid of the SOBs in the Field.
What?
I think it is a combination of both. The Saudis and Russians kicked it off but the collapsing demand super fueled it.
It’s all about the Benjamins. When the price per barrel goes below a certain price they turn off the tap. Was $35 last I heard.
Look I feel for anyone that loses their job, been there done that. But really, they lost their jobs because of the pandemic? Or did they lose their jobs because oil prices have been dropping for months due to the Russia/Saudi oil war and a glut of oil on the market.
> It’s a result of Saudi Arabia and Russia having a pissing match. Nothing to do with COVID
No, no, no! It’s the pandemic! CNN says so!
I think the virus accelerated it, but global demand was headed down before the end of last year.
I saw $15 barrel today.
It’s right around $11.00 a barrel now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.