“Half of the current producers have no legitimate right to be in a business where the price forecast even in a recovery is going to be between, say, $50, $60. They need $70 oil to survive,” Oppenheimer & Co. senior analyst Fadel Gheit told CNBC.

“At this price range, nothing is safe,” agreed U.S. Federal Reserve Bank economist Jesse Thompson.

Oil Change International reports global fossil fuel markets are “spooked” at the prospect of Iran ramping up oil exports of about 500,000 barrels per day. “That can only mean one thing: a market awash with oil, which will only add a downwards pressure on the already low oil price,” Rowell writes. With prices down more than 70% since mid-2014, “the numbers are becoming brutal reading for the industry.”

Critical analysts have been warning for some time of a mounting shale bubble that is forcing the industry to continue producing at a loss, just to cover their debt on past investments. That picture only becomes more challenging with drastically lower prices.