Just a few short years ago, the United States was producing more shale oil than ever , pumping as much and as quickly as they could to keep up with an industry and a market going gangbusters. At its height, U.S. crude production reached an apex of 13 million barrels per day (bpd). Even as oil price volatility and the short lifespan of shale wells caused plenty of small-scale booms and busts in the West Texas Permian Basin, the sector charged onwards with a steadfast growth mindset. More and more companies popped up to get in while the getting was good and pipeline companies laid down as much infrastructure as they could to keep up with shale’s rapid expansion. And then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. In early 2020 the novel coronavirus took a massive bite out of global oil demand, and instead of banding together to keep the oil […]