Quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The operators would just shut the wells in and wait for better days. Now, gas production through the Waha Hub occasionally drops below zero but they are just giving the natural gas away to make the oil as they can’t just vent it. They are building more take-away capacity to remedy this but it is a few years away.
It costs more to shut wells than to keep pumping. I have two relatives in the business, one of whom just about lost his shirt in the last crash before he was able to get rid of his well.