As the decline in the prices of crude oil lingers, oil companies around the world are cutting their budgets and their staffs. According to industry consultant Graves & Co, the number of jobs cut worldwide has risen to 250, 000 and more are still expected.

More than 1,000 rigs have been rendered idle in the industry and over $100 billion in expenditure has been cut this year in order to manage the oil prices which fell by more than half since last year.

Oil services, drilling and supply companies are not left out as they bear the impact of the decline, accounting for 79 % of the retrenchment.

Meanwhile, oil producers in the U.S have continued with their withdrawal as regards drilling this week, idling 10 rigs as a way of slashing expenses and stop the surge of crude supplies that has cut the prices of oil to about $40 per barrel.

In the same way, PricewaterhouseCoopers has also witnessed a fading business in Africa as Oil below $50 made two out of three investment projects on the continent impossible.

“Capital markets are effectively closed to the oil and gas industry in Africa. A decade of exploration, with billions of dollars invested and only limited commercial success. When six of the 10 biggest global oil discoveries in 2013 were made in Africa, it underlined the potential of the energy riches that had lured companies from Royal Dutch Shell to Exxon Mobil Corp”, Tony Hayward (photo), Chairman of General Energy, declared at a conference in Cape Town in October.

Governments’ slow reaction to the decline has made royalties charged from Libya to Angola look punitive. Production in Africa, which is 19% lesser than the 10.2 million b/d in 2008 is to drop for a third year, Leadership reports.