Despite recent production cuts overseas, the price of crude dropped to the lowest price seen since mid-November just as there is news of job losses at another Calgary company.
ConocoPhillips announced would be laying off 300 people in Canada, with the bulk of those losses in Calgary.
The losses are expected to take place by mid-May.
The move is in reaction to the company selling its oil sands assets to Cenovus in March for $17B.
Meanwhile, as for oil prices, analysts say OPEC made cuts to production months ago but it just didn’t do enough to sustain higher prices for very long.
That resulted in WTI prices falling to near $45 per barrel.
OPEC members began shrinking output by 1.2Mbarrels a day in January, marking the first time since 2008 that the 14-member cartel has agreed to a joint reduction.
11 other non-OPEC oil-producing countries also pledged in December to cut an additional 558,000 barrels a day, reaching an overall reduction of 1.8M barrels per day.
The move helped lift oil prices higher as the global glut in crude lessened, but many other non-OPEC producers, particularly in the U.S., used the shortfall as an opportunity to boost their own production.
OPEC is expected to meet again at the end of May to discuss whether or not to extend the production cuts it had put in place.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
