Oil prices for the week are recovering from historic lows, though Brent, a crude index based on North Sea oils, at one point fell below the $60 mark for the first time in more than five years. Robin Allen, chairman of the independent British exploration association Brindex, told the BBC the regional industry was in a state of contraction . “It’s close to collapse. In terms of new investments – there will be none, everyone is retreating, people are being laid off at most companies this week and in the coming weeks,” he said. “Budgets for 2015 are being cut by everyone.” Major international oil companies, from Marathon in the United States to British energy major BP, have trimmed their investment forecasts with oil trading in a bear market. BP in […]