The average natural gas spot price at the benchmark Henry Hub for December 2015 of $1.93 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) was the lowest monthly average since March 1999. EIA expects natural gas prices to rise, averaging $2.65/MMBtu in 2016 and $3.22/MMBtu in 2017. Expected price increases reflect consumption growth, mainly from the industrial sector, that outpaces near-term production growth.

"Demand will grow, as it has already started in 2015, and there will be a period not far into the future (when) demand will catch up with supply,"

"The practice of filling the market with cheap oil at any cost is wrong -- half a year or a year later it could be sold at twice as high," Leonid Fedun, vice-president of Lukoil, Russia's second largest oil producer, was quoted as saying.

The economy will shrink 1.5 percent this year, Alfa Bank’s Natalia Orlova said in a report on Monday, cutting her previous forecast for an expansion of 0.3 percent.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents the industry, forecast that it would invest C$42bn (US$29.5bn) this year, 13 per cent less than last year and 48 per cent less than in 2014. That is a steeper decline than investment in oil and gas production worldwide, which is expected to drop by 40 per cent over 2014-16, according to Wood Mackenzie, the energy research company.

“Our strategy remains unchanged. We are focused on maintaining a strong customer portfolio, investing in more efficient technology, and delivering reliable, best-in-class service quality for our customers. We are looking through this cycle, drawing upon our management’s deep experience and preparing the business for growth when the industry recovers,” said Miller.

U.S. stocks are rising Friday as energy prices continue to climb and give a boost to energy companies. A global rally lifted stocks in Asia and Europe. After two days of gains, major indexes in the U.S. are set to rise for the first week in the last four.

The February crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.81 to settle at $29.53/bbl on Jan. 21. The March contract was up $1.14 to settle at $30.83/bbl. The NYMEX natural gas contract for February gained 2¢ to a rounded $2.14/MMbtu. The Henry Hub gas price was $2.20/MMbtu on Jan. 21, up 6¢.

Therefore, oil prices will rise once more people study the long-term dynamics of oil markets instead of trading on and exploiting the short term news. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, WTI for delivery in February 2017 closed at US$37.08 a barrel on January 19, 23% higher than the market closing price for the day.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $30.64 a barrel at 0634 GMT, up $1.11 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $1.36 to $30.61 a barrel. At one point, Brent prices reached $31.10 a barrel and Nymex rose as high as to $31.04 a barrel.