Fears that the recession is not recovering, and in fact deepening, caused crude oil futures to plummet 10 percent on Monday.

The Energy Security Leadership Council, is backing a plan to create an electrical grid to power the nation's transportation system, rather than relying on foreign oil.

According to a new study, the U.S. stands to gain major economic benefits if Congress were to permanently lift the offshore ban on energy exploration and production.

“I should be quite candid, it’s more my naivete than anything else,” Chu said in response to his comment that the U.S. need not try to urge OPEC to stop cutting output.

Russia and China have signed an energy deal that gives Russian oil companies $25 billion in loans in exchange for Moscow providing long-term oil supplies to Beijing.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service has launched an investigation into four major oil firms over allegations of price fixing which took place last year into early this year.

"By declaring our dependence on oil, we can clearly view our history in a way that will allow us to better approach the problem of our energy future," said Brian Black, a professor at Penn State.

The capacity that the oil industry has to go to 93-95 million barrels per day is already over," Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, the French oil and gas company, said.

"Offshore drilling as part of a comprehensive energy strategy may make sense," the President said.

Crude oil futures slid again on Thursday, and one analyst believes that it hasn't bottomed out yet.