“I want to create a world class investment case for Shell and our shareholders.”

The Kashagan oilfield development project has been marred by delays and cost overruns. It first began producing in September 2013 but was halted two weeks later due to gas leaks.

The August Brent crude contract on London’s ICE fell 52¢ to $48.93/bbl, its lowest settlement since June 3. The September contract was also down 49¢ to $50.33/bbl. The July gas oil contract settled at $443.50/tonne on June 14, down $9.75.

U.S. oil production down 118 tbd, natural gas production down 476 mcfd.

PetroChina Co., the nation’s biggest producer, said in March it expects oil and gas output to fall the first time in 17 years as it shuts fields that have “no hope” of turning a profit, while Cnooc Ltd. sees output slipping as much as 5.2 percent this year.

The decline of 120,000 barrels a day, to 2.37 million barrels a day, underscores the inability of state energy company Petróleos de Venezuela SA to maintain oil-industry investments, as the region’s largest petroleum exporter suffers from a debilitating cash crunch, widespread food shortages and civil unrest.

Last year, Norway’s derived half of its oil and gas revenue from production taxes, 43% from the government’s direct ownership in oil and gas assets, and 7% from dividends paid by Statoil ASA, in which the government has a 67% stake.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 fell to $49.74 per barrel, at 1327 GMT, down 80 cents, after trading as low as $49.61.

"Growth is expected to rebound in 2016, supported by exchange rate depreciation and accommodative monetary and fiscal policies, but uncertainty about oil prices, challenges in sustaining the global recovery, and elevated domestic vulnerabilities suggest risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside," the IMF said.

OPEC predicted that the global oil market will be more balanced in the second half of this year as demand rises and rival supplies falter, echoing views expressed by ministers at the group’s meeting this month.