TOP TEN OIL PRODUCING COMPANIES IN THE WORLD

Local industry and investment experts said Monday they expect continued struggles for the oil and gas industry following sub-$40-a-barrel prices and big drops in Wall Street stocks across the board.

Most Middle Eastern stock markets declined amid mounting concern the region’s largest economy will cut spending after oil prices slumped to the lowest since 2009.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s biggest oil refiner, posted a 22 percent decline in profit for the first half of the year as the slump in prices outweighed the benefit of cheaper crude to its refining business.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas explorer, posted a 56 percent decline in profit for the first half of this year.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the KGB, is holding up Schlumberger Ltd.’s acquisition of a 46 percent stake in Eurasia Drilling Co., according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Continued growth in global production of petroleum and other liquids has outpaced consumption growth since August 2014, resulting in rising global liquids stocks. Total global liquids inventories are estimated to have grown by 2.3 million barrels per day (b/d) through the first seven months of 2015, the highest level of inventory builds through July of any year since 1998. These strong inventory builds have put significant downward pressure on near-term crude oil prices: North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices have averaged $58/barrel through July of this year compared to $109/b over the same period in 2014, responding to growth in global inventories.

The global oil market is healthier than it looks, signaling that crude’s plunge to six-year lows has probably gone too far.

Stock markets in Saudi Arabia and Dubai closed around 7 percent lower on Sunday on the back of a further slide in oil prices.

Iran will ramp up crude oil production and reclaim its lost share of exports shortly after international sanctions on the OPEC member are lifted, Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday.