With the economy in the throes of a global recession, oil producers are facing their toughest business prospects in 25 years.

Oil demand is expected to decline this year and next, the first drop since the energy shocks of the early 1980s. As economic growth slows down sharply, oil prices have collapsed from their summer peaks in record time.

The stunning speed of the downturn has made for a sudden nightmare for producers, who face shrinking revenue next year. Oil has lost $100 a barrel, or 70 percent of its value, since July and many analysts forecast further declines as the global economy worsens.

OPEC is meeting Wednesday in the coastal city of Oran, Algeria, to discuss ways to stem the drop in prices. Chakib Khelil, the organization’s president and the Algerian oil minister, suggested last week that producers would approve “a severe production cut to stabilize the oil market.”