(KLFY) Amid COVID-19 and the surplus of oil, it is predicted more than 60-70 percent of people will be laid off, which in Louisiana that could be has high as 23,000 people.

Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Gifford Briggs says, “For oil producers in the state ten dollars is devastating. The breakdown price was thirty-seven dollars so we are well below the point where companies can even keep doors open.”

In addition to the serious impact on people’s health, COVID-19 is crushing local economies.

The pandemic has contributed to halting the demand for oil, resulting in a decline in oil prices and production.

“When wells aren’t being produced there is no taxes, no royalties being paid, no revenue generated; that’s so devastating to Louisiana economy,” explains Briggs.

Briggs says some companies have taken matters into their own hands to survive the declining oil industry during COVID-19.

Briggs says, “For physical delivery of crude has reached $1.60 in one place, some has seen negative prices that means the storage is limited. You have to get the barrels off your property so you begin pay people to take it.”

He says the future of the industry depends on the economy’s demand for oil.

“Products that oil is used to make, medicines, that’s not going away so the oil industry will play a part in Louisiana’s economy for a long time to come,” adds Briggs.