Sir Martin, too, thinks that American and European consumers have been “scarred”, and will take a long time to rediscover the joy of splashing cash around.

Many are still haunted by a disastrous error made at an Opec meeting in Jakarta in 1999, when the cartel — which produces more than a third of the world's oil — opted to raise its production levels.

Heyman, still a little shaken, hasn't reopened her Facebook account but hopes to get back online in the future.