Oil prices fell to as low at $30.44 per barrel before settling at $31.26 on Tuesday as oversupply concerns continue to grow.
Despite recovering slightly, the $31.26 figure still resembles a 1% fall in the price of Brent crude oil. West Texas Intermediate oil fell 1.6% to $30.91.
Just 12 days into 2016 and oil prices are already down 20% on where they were at the start of the year. The falls seen on Tuesday took prices close to levels not seen for nearly 13 years.
Some members of Opec (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) have called for an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of reducing production. It has been widely accepted for quite some time that oversupply is the primary reason for the dramatic decline of oil prices.
But so far, Opec led by Saudi Arabia, has resisted calls to reduce supply.
OPEC president Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who is also Nigerian minister of state for petroleum resources, said: "We did say that if it (the price) hits the $35 per barrel, we will begin to look (at)... an extraordinary meeting."
He added: "Saudi Arabia has never held the position that it does not want to talk. In fact, it was very supportive of a meeting before June, at the time when we held the December meeting, if (there was a) consensus call for it."
