Thousands of oil wells have been shut in

Something that was considered unthinkable in the past is now a reality all across the U.S oilpatch.

Across the  Permian Basin that is West Texas and Southeast New Mexico, wells have been “shut in,” in the ever-changing oil industry business. American oil companies are pumping a million fewer barrels a day than they were two months ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

With Thousands of oil wells shut-in or idled in North Dakota, The sate has seen the unemployment numbers skyrocketed. making the Boomtowns look more like ghost towns. North Dakota’s active rig count is at 19, that’s down from 62 a year ago. According to state officials, State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said Tuesday that companies have shut 4,600 wells since the start of March. Operators are temporarily idling wells that produce smaller quantities of oil, in addition to wells that flare large amounts of natural gas.

The idled wells account of about 260,000 barrels per day of oil, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

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