The mistaken prognoses highlight the challenges OPEC faces on Friday when the group’s ministers gather in Vienna for a potentially contentious meeting.

Saudi Arabia, which has so far resisted any market intervention to prop up oil prices, will propose the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut output by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, Energy Intelligence reported.

Depressed oil prices are likely to linger longer as analysts dropped their predictions further for next year, according to a Reuters poll, assuming OPEC will not cut output when it meets on Friday.

“Relatively low gas prices, combined with low oil prices, have slowed drilling in the Marcellus (Shale) so production from new wells is only offsetting the decline in old wells,” said EIA lead upstream analyst Dana Van Wagener.

"We highly value our interaction within consultations on the situation in the oil market between OPEC and leading non-OPEC producers," Novak said.

Britain's oil and gas sector has lost over 5,000 jobs since late 2014 as a slump in oil prices has severely squeezed oil companies' budgets and led to project cancellations.

“Despite of challenging economic environment, the Company keeps improving its efficiency. This is demonstrated by keeping operating costs in rouble terms at sustainable level in conditions of 12.0% increase in industry prices. Preserving the cost base and efficient risk management contributed to an increase in profits for 9M 2015 compared to 9M 2014 despite oil price drop. The Company achieved a structural improvement in the credit profile, while the debt burden was reduced to the target level.”

‘The latest estimates for 2016 show that total investments are expected to amount to NOK 219.4 billion. This is 5.4 per cent lower than the corresponding figure for 2015. The decline is mainly due to a fall of 9.3 per cent within oil and gas’ reads the statement.

"The council (of ministers) ... stressed the kingdom's role in (achieving) the stability of the oil market and its continuous readiness and efforts to cooperate with all OPEC and non-OPEC countries to maintain the stability of the market and prices," the cabinet said.

“We have never seen this in the last 30 years, two consecutive years of investment decline,” the IEA’s executive director, Dr. Fatih Birol, told The Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of a Statoil conference. “This will have implications for the oil markets, if not tomorrow then the day after tomorrow.”