Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it would cut about 2,800 jobs to meet a pledge of reducing operating costs by $3.5 billion following its takeover of BG Group Plc.

Russia is against an increase in global crude production, rather than favouring a reduction, and remains pessimistic about the possibility of Moscow and Riyadh reaching a production coordination deal, Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak said Thursday. "We are in favor of, not a cut, but of countries not increasing their output, so that demand, which is growing year-by-year, is covered by the oversupply that exists in the market," Novak said.

Halliburton and Baker Hughes, which do the physical work of drilling wells and extracting oil and natural gas for energy companies, trail only Schlumberger Ltd. in the marketplace.

Canada’s oil and gas companies have eliminated at least 40,000 jobs this year, the industry’s lobby group estimates, while companies have curtailed spending. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the nation’s largest heavy oil producer, will rely on cash flow to cover its capital spending next year after eliminating C$3.2 billion ($2.4 billion) from its 2015 budget. Blackpearl Resources Inc., a small operator, will spend only C$15 million next year, a fraction of the C$235 million the company spent in 2014.

Non-OPEC crude oil and other liquids production grows by 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2015, and then declines by 0.4 million b/d in 2016, which would be the first annual decline in non-OPEC production since 2008.

LNG to northeast Asia, home to the world’s biggest consumers, plunged 27% this year, outpacing Brent’s 23% slump as of Wednesday. While analyst estimates show that crude will recover in 2016, prices for the super-chilled fuel will probably extend declines by as much as 23%.

Chevron, the second-largest energy company in the U.S. by revenue, and other major oil companies have been cutting costs and capital spending plans in response to an extended downturn in prices for crude.

EIA forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $53/b in 2015 and $56/b in 2016. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $4/b lower than the Brent price in 2015 and $5/b lower in 2016.

Many poorer OPEC members have said the group's largest producer was effectively twisting their arms, prompting the Saudi oil minister, Ali al Naimi, to say he would listen to everyone this time.

Although the collapse in oil prices has hit the budgets of Opec’s members hard, the group’s ability to act collectively has rarely looked weaker. Brent crude touched a six-year low of $41.30 a barrel on Monday.