And while U.S. shale oil producers have so far held up admirably, hanging on for dear life amidst the biggest oil demand collapse in history. the rig count collapse may signal more trouble ahead as American producers continued to pump at record highs in March, even after dozens of drillers laid out blueprints to limit production. 

But, as OilPrice.com's Alex Kimani notes,  with U.S. storage about to hit tank tops in a matter of weeks and the world deep in the throes of the biggest pandemic in modern history, the inevitable has begun to unfold: The arduous and costly process of well shut-ins.

Oil production in the country tumbled sharply to 12.2 million bpd in the third week of April, a good 900,000 bpd less than the record peak of 13.1 million bpd recorded just a month prior. That's a 7% production cut in the space of only a few weeks and the lowest level since July.

A lot more could be on the way.