Three weeks later, on September 5, Governor Sterling announced the field was being reopened, but with sharp limits: no well could produce more than 225 barrels a day. With prices so low, it was impossible for many wildcatters to make money. Only the wealthiest drilling groups, including the majors and large acreage holders like Hunt, could afford to keep drilling, and they did. When they found oil, they simply left it in the ground, confident that they would be able to sell it at some future point.
