Now, there are growing concerns that the oil industry could be about slash spending on infrastructure projects. This could, in theory, lead to a shortage of supply in the future - despite that scenario seeming far off right now.
"We're as surprised as anyone that the oil price has gone this low, but what you can say for absolute certain is that this level…is going to mean a dramatic cut in capital expenditure in the oil industry," Max King, portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management, told CNBC Europe's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.
Read MoreOil battle is sticky, but OPEC may be forced to act
"(This) is going to mean that major economies will have to radically cut spending, whatever they say (to the contrary)," he said, adding that this could lead to a shortage of supply in four or five years' time.
As differences within OPEC become more apparent, analysts at research firm Energy Aspects said that next year "cash-strapped producers" – such as Russia, Iraq and Venezuela – would be forced to "divert funds from upstream investment to plugging holes in government budgets, particularly on social spending."
Despite this, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak insisted on Tuesday that the country would not cut production, and would maintain its 2014 oil output level into 2015, Reuters reported.
In their outlook for oil in 2015, Energy Aspects analysts Amrita Sen, Robert Campbell and Richard Mallinson, also warned that various militant groups were threatening to take permanents holds on oil-rich territories, such as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which could also hit investment.
"As well as disrupting current supplies this basically rules out investment in exploration and future capacity," they wrote. "An extended period of underinvestment would translate into a gradual decay of productive capacity. While this is hardly on the market's mind right now, the seeds of this can be sown in 2015, adding to the tightness in the coming years."