Trump Steps In To Help Oil Industry Facing Its Own Coronavirus Crisis

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Oil industry analysts are warning of possible bankruptcies, especially if prices remain as low as they've fallen. Now, the Trump administration says it will help by buying up crude for the nation's strategic reserve.

A crew near Karnes City, Texas, continued work as oil prices collapsed this week. Companies already were cutting costs and now will have to cut deeper as oil prices remain low.A crew near Karnes City, Texas, continued work as oil prices collapsed this week. Companies already were cutting costs and now will have to cut deeper as oil prices remain low.Oil prices bounced back a bit after President Trump said the Department of Energy would buy crude for the nation's strategic petroleum reserve.

While oil prices increased nearly 5% after Friday's announcement, that was just a fraction of the amount they lost earlier in the week.collapse in crude oil prices"I actually have a little man camp and these guys are on the way out because they lost contracts," says Martinez, who has eight rooms he rents to out-of-town oilfield workers in Karnes City, Texas.

This is one small example of what declining oil prices mean for the rural communities that depend on the oil business. And there's a lot at stake for the U.S., the world's largest producer of crude oil. U.S. oil companies, especially smaller ones, are now looking to make deep cuts. Industry analysts warn of possible bankruptcies, especially if oil remains where it's fallen to, in the $30 per barrel range. Companies operating in Texas's Eagle Ford Shale need prices between $40 to $60 a barrel to remain profitable.Karnes City was transformed by the oil drilling boom that started about a decade back.

 

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bankruptcies? I love how the rich always claims poor!

Buying up crude during this low price period in order to strengthen our strategic reserve is GENIUS. Good move Mr. President.

Record profits, and they can’t get over a pothole. Where the money go?

Is this how the free market works?

Why hasn’t Trump been buying oil for the reserves, oil been cheap for awhile. Unless he’s waiting for it to go back up so he could buy high and make his oil friends a lot of money.

tpmedia Good, oil is the lifeblood of our economy. We need cheap reliable oil and natural gas to maintain our prosperity

wah poor oil industries!!! want a bailout too wah 😩

Aren’t the prices low because the Russians and the Saudis couldn’t come to an agreement and the Russian are trying to undercut the US market of shale drilling to try to put them out of business so they can increase prices?

CapitalismForThePoorSocialismForTheRich

Equine excrement. No bankruptcies need happen, simply lower executive paychecks by a couple of decimal places, problem solved.

Let US the oil industry flounder, even it it means job losses and industrial slowdown. Better to let inefficient companies fail then prop them up with taxpayer dollars.

Huh.

Oh god forbid the oil and gas industry get pneumonia. The Trump admin says it will help jack up the price of oil again and save the patient. There NPR, fixed that for ya.

Sounds like a fine idea! Thank you and keep up the fine work, President Trump!

WYPublicRadio

Guess who’s paying for this, people...as the debt continues to grow..

Time to move to renewables. Oil is over. More money to be made in renewable energy

Boo hoo

Oil co bankruptcies....bullshit

Capitalism is only relevant if there is a profit. Otherwise, the gop believes in corporate socialism.

Clinton did this - if prices get really low - shouldn't we do this?

Wait a minute. Talk about interfering with market forces. Do we need to refill our strategic reserves? Has money been allocated for this. If we are talking about Permian basin producers. They come in and go out quickly. Trump wants TX to stay red.

Let them die

Corruption on full display, as usual

More right wing socialism.

Nice little bailout but yet we can’t afford national healthcare 🤔🖕

The stock market responded. Interesting . . .

At cost I do hope....

He's not doing it to save the oil industry, he's taking advantage of low prices to fill the reserves. It's a good move on his part and good for the country. Unfortunately he's spinning it for political points. The Orange Baboon and his flying monkeys need to go.

No he’s buying something we can store and use later when it’s on sale.

Your telling me, the industry that has been making trillions of dollars of profit for decades cant bunker down and throw some money into their own business for a bit ? 08alloveragain

tough shit

mstepczyk Welcome to the 80’s AGAIN. Same bull crap then ... what comes around goes around again.

Moving away from oil would help.

Of course the GOP bales out the oil industry while senatemajldr sits on his dumb ass.

After all those years of ripping people off. Funny how this happening now.

Hasn't the oil industry posted record profits for the last few years?

BuT tHaT’s SoCiAliSm

sigh

Thoughts and prayers for the oil companies. Their greed over the years is unforgivable.

Corporate welfare! End socialism! Socialism doesn't work!

Engage bootstraps

This is just as bad as the loser free loading Bernie supporters.

It’s kind of a 1-2 combo for them. Coronavirus has driven down demand, but you’re skipping half the story. The prices tanked due to an ongoing price war between Saudi Arabia/OPEC and Russia. Coronavirus doesn’t merit a bailout. The crossfire of an international trade dispute may.

But still not talking about buying up farmers products to redistribute to hungry Americans GovernmentCheese

Ummm there’s wind and solar we could be exploring.....

Renewable energy, please. As bad as this is, we need an administration that recognizes that this is the tip of the iceberg, that we need to address climate change in a multi-faceted way; ex: the melting permafrost that is going to release all sorts of new germs. COVID2019

No response for the people, but the owners will be taken care of.

ken_crichlow Fracking is going to take a fracking

That's shameful

As much as I dislike Trump, this move will likely help low income workers that work oil fields. Hopefully

...but we still don't have signed covid19 emergency legislation.

Privatize the profits, socialize the losses. It's the American Way!

Welfare for billionaires- meanwhile MoscowMitch goes on vacation instead of providing much needed funding for the average people. GOPTraitors

Bankruptcy? I didn’t know big oil lives paycheck to paycheck like all us non 1%ers.

Trump has always, & always will, prioritize money above people. This is why we are where we are. He was more concerned w “keeping the numbers down” than w saving lives. If he was capable of leading the US with compassion instead of greed, we might have contained this.

More corporate socialism. Fuck trump fucktrump

divest

Or we could buy everyone enough food/supplies to stay home for 3 weeks and be done with the virus right away.

After years of record profits!!

Socialism for the rich

Awesome I love bailouts, why don’t the billionaires who own the companies use their own money to bail out the company?

PutinsPuppet is in the oval office

Fuck the oil industry... recipients of socialist prop-up money for years

Oil money never dry

Or, and this may be a crazy thought, maybe we don't prop up an industry that pumps poison into the ground to extract a fossil fuel we can't afford to keep burning with reckless abandon? Where are the free marketeers now? Let the market prove oil needs to die.

Save the billionaires but take food from the poor and during an epidemic. typical

realDonaldTrump, I guess that it's not socialism if it's a wealth transfer to the oil companies?

Maybe he’ll bomb Saudi Arabia

Thoughts and prayers ThoughtsAndPrayers

Yes save the oil industry we will all be broke or dead but cool cool

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄😠😠

Honestly not a bad idea for once.

buy up my student loans you coward

Hmm, high on the hog and pay nearly zero taxes and yet be this vulnerable?

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