The prospect of a return to $100-a-barrel crude is tempting some to bet against the bearish consensus in the oil market.

Despite a 50 percent slide in crude prices since last summer, U.S. shale oil producers are enjoying remarkably easy access to capital markets and this will allow them to avoid getting squeezed when banks reset their loans in April.

In a keynote speech to attendees of the 2015 Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition, Richard B. Spears, an oil field services market researcher, says the worst may be yet to come for that market, but a partial recovery also could come sooner than expected.

ConocoPhillips is among energy companies considering asset sales amid depressed oil prices, as it markets gas-producing properties that account for about 20% of its production in Western Canada. Whiting Petroleum has hired a bank to explore a sale of the company, people familiar with the matter said last week. The company is selling oil and gas processing assets in North Dakota, Bloomberg News reported in February.

Based on financial statements from selected international oil and natural gas companies, spending on upstream investments was 12% lower in fourth-quarter 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Upstream spending on exploration and development typically accounts for the bulk of these companies' investment expenditures.

Oil prices should stabilise in the second half of this year and rise in 2016 and 2017 as consumers respond to a period of much cheaper fuel, a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Monday.

European gas demand fell 11.2% on the year in 2014 to 409 Bcm, or 4,418 TWh, because of "exceptionally warm" weather, industry association Eurogas said Wednesday.

Oil markets remained volatile Mar. 24 while analysts anticipated a weekly government inventory report showing another climb in US oil and product supplies. US light, sweet crude prices edged up on Mar. 24 to remain under $48/bbl while Brent prices fell modestly to settle at above $55/bbl.

India has bought the first oil for its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), trade sources said on Monday, marking the start of a round of purchases by the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer to build up emergency stockpiles.

Investment bankers and analysts entrenched in the oil and gas industry say companies have so far staved off the major negative impacts of the current industry downturn better than previous downturns by acting more proactively and aggressively.

Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's battle to salvage his North Sea gas fields purchase will take weeks if not months to resolve as the British cabinet has left it for the next government to take the decision, sources said.

Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard said Monday he expects global exploration and production capital expenditures to drop between 10 to 15 percent in 2015.

The US drilling rig count dropped just 21 units to settle at 1,048 rigs working during the week ended Mar. 27, representing the smallest decline in 15 weeks.

Royal Dutch Shell will reportedly cut at least 250 more jobs this year at its UK North Sea operations.

In the boom years of the US shale oil industry, profitability was something of an optional extra. Companies were focused on growth, it was easy to raise capital, and making a decent return on investment could be put off for another day.