Oil prices continued on their renewed downturn Thursday, resulting from the fallout Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi's announcement on Tuesday, when he stated that the OPEC would probably not initiate production cuts, reported The Business Recorder.

As a result of the announcement, the global oil market has experienced yet another notable plunge, with Brent crude levels falling 82 cents to $33.15 a barrel in London.

While the global oil crisis is affecting oil producers in general, it seems like it is small businesses that are taking the biggest hit. Darlene S. Wallace, the president of Columbus Oil, has stated that due to the state of the global oil market, she might end up selling her house in Oklahoma City and living in an apartment above her office, according to The New York Times.

"How much can I keep bleeding before I say enough is enough?" she said.

There are about 7,500 small, mostly privately-owned oil operators in the U.S. that are operating approximately 400,000 oil wells across the country. Sadly, it is these businesses that are taking the most prominent hits from the global downturn of the market.

With the current state of the oil market, however, especially OPEC's vague stance on oil production, it would seem like the global oil crisis would not be ending anytime soon, reported The Village Sun Times.

This means that for the thousands of independent oil operators in America, the next few months would be quite challenging indeed.

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