The world's most powerful oilman, Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi, spoke to a group of U.S. oil producers in Houston this week and gave them a harsh message.
Bloomberg reports he said high-cost producers need to either “lower costs, borrow cash or liquidate."
"It sounds harsh, and unfortunately it is, but it is the most efficient way to rebalance markets," Naimi told the audience.
The former head of a U.S. shale-oil company says the U.S. shale-oil industry from North Dakota to Texas is going to be "decimated" in coming months in a wave of bankruptcies and says the survivors will be much more conservative.
Bloomberg says there will be a ripple effect in local economies, including regional banks in Oklahoma.