Australian energy company BHP Billiton said it was cutting spending in its petroleum division, but maintained production would stay the same.

"We continue to reduce costs in both our onshore U.S. and conventional businesses, and will meet our production targets with $200 million less capital investment," Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said in a statement.

BHP reported revenue from continuing operations down 21.4 percent, total revenue down 22.2 percent and capital spending down 24 percent for the period ending June 30 compared with last year. The Australian company said it was taking a reigned-in approach moving forward.

Profits after tax for the year ending June 30 declined 85 percent to $1.9 billion.

Energy companies are struggling to generate cash while lower crude oil prices crimp operating expenses. Crude oil prices are at historic lows because of oversupply concerns and signs of weakness in the global economy.

BHP Billiton said total oil and natural production for the period ending in September was down, primarily because of the slowdown in activity in the United States. Data reported last week from oil services company Baker Hughes show rig activity, a metric used to gauge the health of the industry, declined for the seventh straight week in U.S. basins.

Spending for BHP Billiton to oil and gas operations for 2016 is down 6 percent to $2.9 billion. Nevertheless, the company said it expects to produce 237 million barrels of oil equivalent next year, a guidance that's unchanged from previous estimates.

"BHP Billiton remains on track to meet full-year production and cost guidance after a solid operational performance this quarter," Mackenzie said.

World Bank outlook pushes oil lower
New York (UPI) Oct 21, 2015 - A downbeat oil market assessment from the World Bank and lingering signs of an oversupplied market pushed crude oil prices down sharply in Wednesday trading.

In a late Tuesday report, the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude oil inventories rose by a little more than 7 million barrels last week. The week prior, API said U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 9.3 million barrels.

Data suggest slight improvements in the U.S. and global economies aren't enough to draw on the surplus of oil in storage. In response, crude oil prices retreated sharply in early Wednesday trading.

The price for Brent crude oil dropped 1 percent from the previous close to $48.21 per barrel, down about 2.7 percent for the month. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for crude oil, was down 1.9 percent from Tuesday to $45.42 per barrel, off 2.4 percent from Oct. 1.

In a Tuesday report, the World Bank said it was lowering its full-year forecast for crude oil prices by $5 per barrel to $52 per barrel.

"We see a five-year-long slide in most commodity prices continuing in the third quarter of 2015," John Baffes, senior commodities research for the bank, said in a statement. "There are sufficient inventories of oil and other commodities and demand is weak, especially for industrial commodities, which is why prices may stay persistently low."

Technical experts from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting in Vienna to discuss current market dynamics. A November decision by member states to keep production static added further downward pressure to crude oil prices. Despite the looming return of Iran, no major production announcements are expected from the meeting.