U.S. oil companies prepare to slash spending

U.S. oil companies prepare to slash spending

With fewer rigs coming on line because of the oil price war, that will mean less money for oil field service companies and fewer jobs for their workers.. American oil producers are slashing their budgets for new operations for the rest of this year, which means far fewer new rigs, a painful downturn for dozens of oilfield services companies and the certainty of layoffs, from Texas to North Dakota.. Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has kneecapped the petroleum business, sparking a price war that the Saudis launched last weekend against the Russians, each side promising to pump more oil even as the disease causes demand to tumble.. U.S. oil producers - slow to move when the Saudis launched an earlier price war five years ago, uncertain of the Saudi commitment - showed no such hesitation this week.. In between those two predictions, a Goldman Sachs study released Friday showed, American firms moved to cut capital spending by 30 percent.. But if the price of oil doesn't get back above $35, which it passed heading downward this week, he said, "we would see significant impacts.. The price of oil plummeted, and has since lost about a quarter of its value..