“This is not how Americans were meant to live.” Oil worker shares experience after price drop leaves him without work

LUBBOCK, Texas — Since the collapse of oil prices, leaving West Texas Intermediate to zero dollars per barrel.

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Greg Helms, has been working in oil & gas industry for over 20 years, and said he’s now trying to find a way to pay his bills.

“Right now everything is about surviving,”Helms said. “New trucks, new vehicles, all that stuff, everything is gone just to bare bones. I’m knuckled down, I’m going to survive this.”

Helms said his days now consist of making calls, networking and trying to find work.

“I hope I don’t get foreclosed on, Helms said.” Everybody has that going on in the back of their minds, so you wake up every day not wanting to check your mail.”

And while the low gas prices may seem like a good thing to consumers, Helms said it comes at a price.

“The lower the price of gas,” Helms said. “The more it’s going to hurt the industry.
The industry is not some entity that’s fictitious and sits up in a high rise building and runs everything, these are people.”