Yet to bottom out

Companies that had been riding the crest of $100-plus oil are facing a reality check. What looked like a good investment at $100-a-barrel doesn't look so profitable at $60. Across the sector - from super-majors like BP, services giants such as Halliburton, and minnow explorers in the depths of Africa - the question is the same: is the 40% fall since June the new normal, or a blip in a long-term upward trend?

This week, analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley warned that oil could fall to $43 a barrel in the second quarter of next year unless oil producers' group Opec bolsters the price by cutting production. But in truth, no-one really knows for sure where the price is going. In the meantime, companies like BP are forced make contingency plansahead of what could be a tougher climate. "The fall has added to the importance of making the organisation more efficient," a BP spokesman told the BBC.