ET - Cratering Oil Prices Are Forcing U.S. Producers to Take Drastic Actions to Survive
Crude oil prices have crashed and burned this year. At one point this week, the U.S. oil price benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), plummeted into negative territory as price speculators raced to unload positions before they had to take delivery of physical oil they couldn't store because the country is running out of space. The industry's oversupply issue is forcing producers to take extreme measures.
One step a growing number of U.S. producers are taking is shutting down some of their oil pumps. Because storage space is at a premium, it's less of a financial burden to keep oil underground than to pump it into the country's oversaturated market.
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