No, it gets destroyed. Assests are not abstract. They are deployed to one particular site, and a big part of the cost goes to install them in that site. That's

No, it gets destroyed. Assests are not abstract. They are deployed to one particular site, and a big part of the cost goes to install them in that site. That's why all producers are basically operating at a cost right now. You may reopen a closed oil ring (assuming you did nothing destructive to maximize your short term wins, which fraking companies are, AFAIK). The personnel question is a tricky one. People need to eat, so if they face a downturn, many will be discouraged and move to different careers. Some will return, if the market picks up enough to pay way above average wages, but some just definitively won't. You will have to make up the difference by training a fresh crop of young crew members. And I find it amusing to see that a subset of the HN audience can have such a hard time to grasp that other industries might have their own talent acquisition problems.