China and India's combined share of world oil consumption has tripled since 1990 to over 16 percent, nearing the U.S. share of roughly 20 percent, cementing their status as the main center of global demand growth.

Sparking fears for the long-term future of the industry, the UK upstream segment is expected to approve fewer than £1 billion in spending on new North Sea projects compared with an average of £8 billion/year over the past 5 years, according to Oil & Gas UK’s 2016 Activity Survey.

China's crude oil imports fell 20 percent in January from record high volumes the previous month to their lowest level since October, official customs data showed on Monday.

Global energy demand between 2014 and 2035 is expected to rise 34%, an average of 1.4%/year, with fossil fuels remaining the dominant form of energy over the period.

After testing a 12-year low, the price of oil simply has to go up.That’s according to the chief executive officer of shipping and oil giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, who says 2015’s average crude price of $54 a barrel is too low for the industry to produce enough oil to satisfy global demand.

Mining and exploration investment declined 35% in 2015, the second largest year-over-year decline since the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) began reporting the series in 1948.

BP and Oman Oil today signed a heads of agreement with the Government of the Sultanate of Oman committing to amend the Oman Block 61 exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA), extending the licence area of the block and enabling a further development of the major Khazzan tight gas field. BP is the operator of Block 61 with a 60% interest and Oman Oil holds the other 40%.

U.S. Rig Count is down 30 rigs from last week to 541, with oil rigs down 28 to 439, and gas rigs down 2 to 102. Canadian Rig Count is down 20 rigs from last week to 222, with oil rigs down 13 to 118, and gas rigs down 7 to 104.

The Head of Rosneft noted that the demand for oil and oil products will be growing. The growth has become more diversified - China's role has diminished, but the share of India, other Asian countries and Africa is gradually growing. “More diversified growth seems more resilient, and confirms that many of the mentioned "threats" of reducing the role of oil in the world economy are largely exaggerated”- Sechin said. According to the Head of Rosneft, “an imbalance between oil supply and demand may significantly reduce already by the end of 2016, and by the end of 2017 even lack of oil supply is possible at the market”.

“We are working on preserving our traditional markets and we will supply those markets with oil in a competitive battle,” Igor Sechin, Rosneft chief executive officer said in London today.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 82 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,944 as of 12:18 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped eight points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,844. The Nasdaq composite fell 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,266. Stocks posted steep slides Monday and Friday.

Crude oil production in March from seven major US shale plays is expected to fall 92,000 b/d to 4.92 million b/d.

Based on those trends, and even with the prospective increase in Iranian production, the oil market is likely to move closer into balance by the latter part of this year. That will still leave a significant inventory overhang that will take some time to work off. But it seems likely that the market will show at least some signs of turning by the end of this year.

Supply may exceed consumption by an average of 1.75 million barrels a day in the period, compared with an estimate of 1.5 million last month, and the excess could swell if OPEC adds more output, the IEA said. Iran raised production in January following the removal of international sanctions, Iraqi volumes reached a record and Saudi Arabia also ramped up output. The agency trimmed estimates for global oil demand.

The global oil market will rebalance later this year, paving the way for a recovery in crude prices from their lowest level in more than a decade, according to Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive.