[xnull2guest]

For many of the smaller scale oil extraction companies (in the US), they've actually suspended production because of the cheap prices. Hydraulic Fracturing is a very expensive procedure right now and the low prices are hitting the point where the costs of extraction don't pull enough revenue to get the profits the companies need to survive.

Oil has a sweet spot. Too expensive it can't compete with solar and other green energies. Too cheap and it can't be extracted at a profit.

As green energies push down that ceiling closer to the floor, oil is in for a rough time.

Finally, oil is subject to extreme geopolitical pressures. Two of the current pressures on oil prices are ISIS's selling of captured oil fields at discounts to fund operations and the United States and others encouraging prices to stay low so that funding is as menial as possible. Other countries' geopolitical power comes from control of oil (Russia), or transport (Turkey), or contributes the majority of their wealth (Norway) and so these countries have strong motivations to keep oil dominant.

It should be interesting times.