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Oil giant BP sent shock-waves through the industry this morning with what has been described as a “jaw-dropping” loss.

Last week, the British Prime Minster, David Cameron, flew to Aberdeen, the oil capital of the UK to announce £250 million emergency funding to “prop up the North Sea oil industry”; which is reeling badly from the low oil price.

There are many ways you can question the logic of the British Government’s pro-fracking push.

Some of the world’s best known oil companies, including Shell, BP, Statoil and Total, face the humiliation of having a ratings downgrade, the internationally respected ratings agency, Moodys, has warned.

The oil barons from Exxon will wake up to a double headache this morning. The carnage on the international oil markets is playing havoc with their share price. Yesterday afternoon the company’s stock was down nearly 5 per cent as the oil price continued its free-fall.

So the slide continues with no end in sight. As expected this morning, the oil price has fallen below $28 a barrel on the back of the historic news over the weekend of sanctions being lifted on Iran.

It is not a Happy New Year for Big Oil, as the industry faces another daunting year of low oil prices, which could have a catastrophic impact on the US shale industry, amongst others.

There is a temporary reprieve this morning for the oil industry as the oil price has climbed one percent on the news that US drilling has slowed yet again.

The oil cartel, OPEC, has confirmed what has been obvious to many for months: US shale production is in deep, deep trouble as the fracking boom bursts in the face of low oil prices.