The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday, July 10, 2015, stated that oil prices may not have hit their lowest price yet, predicting that they would likely to last well into 2016.
The agency added that the world oil market was unable to absorb the huge volumes of oil now being produced.
It follows the massive drop in prices which started last summer.
The price of Brent crude fell sharply last year from $ 115 a barrel in June to $ 45 a barrel in January.
The current price of Brent crude is $ 59 a barrel.
The fall in prices has led oil firms to cut back investment in exploration, while North Sea oil has come under significant pressure.
All seven major global oil firms have also reported a year-on-year declines as a result of lower oil prices.
Only last month the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast North Sea oil and gas revenues would fall to below 0.1 per cent of GDP over the coming decades.
It said that the tax take from North Sea oil and gas had already fallen by 80 per cent in the last three years.
