Oil price collapse deals blow to Permian

Plunging crude prices are bad news for US shale, with some producers set to be severely afflicted

Operators in the Permian basin were sent reeling by Opec’s failure to maintain its production alliance with Russia. On 9 March, both Brent and WTI experienced their worst day since 1991, falling by over $10/bl into the $30s. Some Permian drillers have already responded by announcing they will scale back production, although the full extent of the fallout could take months to assess.  Among the first to respond was US independent Diamondback Energy, which said it would immediately reduce its activity from nine completion crews to six. The company expects to drop two drilling rigs in April as well as a third later in the second quarter.  Texas-based independent Parsley Energy said it was revis