The impact is not confined to the United States. Oil and gas projects around the world worth $380 billion have been postponed or canceled since 2014.

“I am optimistic about the future, the return of stability to the global oil markets, the improvement of prices and the cooperation among the major producing countries,” al-Naimi said. “Market forces as well as the cooperation among producing nations always lead to the restoration of stability. This, however, takes some time.”

Although analysts are making cautious predictions in the short term, the EIA also indicates that prices in 2017 may be as high as $3.22/MMBtu, representing a major leap in prices for next year.

US light, sweet crude oil prices for February delivery gained modestly on the New York market Jan. 14, closing at above $31/bbl while Brent prices on the London market closed just above $31/bbl within days of both benchmarks briefly dipping under $30/bbl.

The country's energy minister, who said in December that the global oil market could return to a balance by the end of 2016, as long as producers do not raise output from current levels, said on Thursday this may not now happen until early 2017.

"We're playing close attention to the price of oil, and of course that has an important impact on the Canadian dollar, which we're also paying close attention to. In that context, we know that it's doubly important that we think about how we can make investments that have an impact on the economy ... and also think about how we can improve our long-term effectiveness as a country and to increase our long-term rate of growth."

Brent crude futures plunged more than 4 percent to near 12-year lows on Friday as the market braced for increased Iranian oil exports, with the lifting of international sanctions possible within days.

Forecast Brent crude oil prices average $40/b in 2016 and $50/b in 2017. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $2/b lower than Brent in 2016 and $3/b lower in 2017. However, the current values of futures and options contracts continue to suggest high uncertainty in the price outlook.

The slowdown has been rapid. As recently as a year ago, US manufacturing production was growing at an annual rate of 4.5 per cent, says Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. By November that had slowed to 0.9 per cent and this year Mr Moutray expects production to grow just 1.4 per cent.

Companies like BP, which said Tuesday it is cutting 4,000 jobs, are slimming down to cope with the slump in oil, whose price has plummeted to its lowest level in 12 years and is not expected to recover significantly for months, possibly years. California-based Chevron said last fall that it would eliminate 7,000 jobs, while rival Shell announced 6,500 layoffs.

“Companies have to be prudent in the face of what’s happening,” says Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman of consultancy IHS. “It’s a wrenching period for the industry.”

Oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron have already slashed tens of thousands jobs globally to deal with a near 75 percent drop in oil prices since June 2014 that has seen earnings collapse.

Crude's collapse from $100 a barrel since mid-2014 has already pummeled Russia, which relies on energy for about half its budget revenues and 40 percent of its exports. The latest slide compounds the problems facing President Vladimir Putin ahead of elections in 2018.

The escalating rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is intensifying bilateral market competition, which some observers say eclipses in importance Saudi concern over expansion of supply from North America.

Even if E&P clients are able to negotiate more favorable terms for their debt, the industry’s overextended balance sheets will put a cap on activity — even if oil prices rise. On the producer side, companies will most likely de-lever before they drill should some extra cash come in the door. For OFS, building all the new equipment such as walking rigs and big frac spreads to meet strong client demand has some players in this sector significantly over-levered.