It is doubtful that anyone is envious of the budget planners in the international oil industry, as 2016 looks like it will be one of the most unpredictable years ever. Tuesday afternoon, the price of crude oil from the North Sea broke the symbolically important limit of USD 40. Crude oil from the North Sea is the controlling price for the majority of the global oil trade. Which is why this negative price breakthrough carries more significance than the fact that US crude oil reached a low of USD 36.65 per barrel during trade on Tuesday.