Production at the nation's top oil producer has been affected 'adversely' as the international financial crisis has continued to take its toll on the country, according to a statement on the company's website.
Brent North Sea crude for January eased 84 cents to US$53.40. The contract rose US$2.25 to US$54.24 on Friday in London.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting on November 29 in Egypt and some members are calling for the cartel to further cut production in the face of plunging oil prices.
But weekend comments by Opec president Chakib Khelil suggest output will not be lowered this month, said Mr Dave Ernsberger, Asia director of global energy information provider Platts, in Singapore.
'Chakib Khelil basically said that they will not cut on November 29th', Mr Ernsberger said.
Concern for slowing economic growth and its impact on energy demand has led oil prices to plummet since striking record peaks above US$147 in July.
The dive has sparked alarm among the Opec cartel, whose members pump about 40 per cent of the world's crude supplies.
State television in Iran, Opec's number two oil producer, reported on Saturday that the country favours reducing crude production by 1.0 to 1.5 million barrels per day at the meeting in Cairo.
Kuwait, the bloc's fourth-largest producer, is prepared to cut output if its Opec partners decide to reduce production, the oil minister said on Sunday.
Quoted by the official KUNA news agency, Mr Mohammad al-Olaim called for a revision of the oil market to 'restore balance between actual need for crude', and supply, adding that inventories of many countries are full of surplus oil that could lead to a glut in the market.
Mr Ernsberger said that even if the cartel does not reduce output this month, a cut looks very likely in December when another Opec meeting is scheduled.
But the oil market is looking for faster action, he said, in light of grim economic news that signals a worsening of global demand for oil.
'On the demand side news is even more gloomy', Mr Ernsberger said.
Japan's economy, the second largest in the world, slipped into recession in the third quarter as companies slashed investment to weather the financial crisis, official data showed on Monday.
Oil prices have continued lower despite Opec's decision on October 24 to reduce production by 1.5 million barrels a day.
Author: Jo Amey
