The stunning collapse of oil prices Monday was the latest shock to an economy roiled by the coronavirus outbreak — and yet another jolt to an energy sector already grappling with a challenging transition from fossil fuels to cleaner power sources.

The price of West Texas crude fell to negative $37.63 per barrel as sellers scrambled to offload their May futures contracts before a Tuesday expiration date — even if they had to pay buyers to make the deal. The reason: With the pandemic bringing the economy to a standstill, there is so much unused oil sloshing around that American energy companies have run out of room to store it.