Photos: Oil price drop hits Bakersfield

Oil rig pump jacks work the oil fields near the town of Maricopa in the hills west of Bakersfield. Kern County is home to the five most productive petroleum fields in California.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Aaron Kent, a wireline operator for oil services firm Canary, prepares a slick line at an oil rig pump jack site near Bakersfield.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The Oil Worker Monument in Taft near Bakersfield. More than 188,500 Californians work in the oil industry, according to a report last year from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Kern County is home to the five most productive oil fields in California. Above, oil pumps and equipment are seen in the South Belridge oil field about 40 miles west of Bakersfield.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Petroleum Club, a private dining club at the top of Bakersfield’s tallest building, has lost members in the last three months as the oil price drop takes its toll.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Oil pumps and equipment reflect on water pooled after a storm in the South Belridge oil field in Kern County about 40 miles west of Bakersfield.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Some 12,000 people are on oil and gas extraction and well-drilling payrolls in Bakersfield. Combined with related positions in refineries, pipeline transportation and more, nearly 7% of all jobs in the region are linked to petroleum -- the highest percentage among large U.S. metropolitan areas.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

California is the nation’s third-largest oil producer, behind Texas and North Dakota, according to the federal government. Above, oil pumps and equipment reflect on water pooled after a storm in the South Belridge oil field in Kern County, about 40 miles west of Bakersfield.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)