New oil and gas well permits fall 40 percent in November

Tumbling oil prices spurred a decline in new well permits issued in the U.S. by nearly 40 percent in November, according to new data.

Reuters reports it was provided industry data by the firm Drilling Info Inc, which revealed 4,520 new well permits were approved in November, down from 7,227 in October.

{mosads}The move was a “very quick response” to the tumbling price of crude oil, Allen Gilmer, CEO of Drilling Info.

The decline in issued permits are the first critical pullbacks made in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford in Texas and North Dakota’s Bakken shale this year, Reuters reports.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced its plans last week to continue current output levels, refusing to cut production, and sending U.S. prices to below $70 a barrel.