The UK’s natural gas imports from Norway are forecast to increase up to 15% year on year this winter. In the months from October to March, the UK will likely import between 60-136 mcm per day of gas from Norway. At the high end of this range, imports would be up 18 mcm per day in the same period a year earlier. Imports of Dutch and Belgian gas are also projected to increase amid predictions that flows from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) may fall by 4% this year to as low as 70 mcm per day.

Fitch Ratings has announced it affirmed Qatar's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'AA'. The issue ratings on Qatar's senior unsecured foreign-currency bonds are also affirmed at 'AA'; the Country Ceiling at 'AA+', and the Short-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at 'F1+'.

U.S. Rig Count is down 367 rigs from last year's count of 864, with oil rigs down 255, gas rigs down 114, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is down 50 rigs from last year's count of 187, with oil rigs down 1, and gas rigs down 49.

“Combining CNPC’s operational expertise with BP’s technology and experience, we now expect to leverage the synergies between these blocks. This new PSC clearly demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in projects in China which will deliver long-term value to BP, to our Chinese partners and, most importantly, to the country.”

“There are no easy buttons to push. It’s not simply about the oil price, the Paris Agreement or the still incomplete single market. It’s about the interdependencies and how these factors amplify each other. At the end of the day, economic as well as social and ecological interests must be in balance with supply security in Europe.”

U.S. Rig Count is down 388 rigs from last year's count of 877, with oil rigs down 269, gas rigs down 121, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is down 50 rigs from last year's count of 196, with oil rigs down 4, and gas rigs down 46.

Bulgaria’s prime minister Boyko Borisov proposed the gas hub, to be built near the city of Varna, days after Russia scrapped the Gazprom-led South Stream pipeline project over objections from the EC, suggesting a different idea of what a hub is from the conventional, virtual trading point such as the Dutch title transfer facility.

U.S. production is a clear factor in lower global crude prices, which has translated into lower energy costs for individual Americans and families. Year-over-year U.S. gasoline prices have declined by almost 50 cents per gallon, due in large part to the decline in the price of crude oil.

Exxon Mobil Corp.Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC and Chevron Corp. hold a combined net debt of $184 billion -- more than double their debt levels in 2014, when oil prices began a steep descent that eventually bottomed out at $27 a barrel earlier this year. Crude prices have rebounded since, but still hover near $50 a barrel.

In the year through June, China's gas consumption rose 9.8 percent to 99.5 bcm, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) reported. Production edged up 2.9 percent to 67.5 bcm, while imports jumped 21.2 percent to 35.6 bcm, the top planning agency said.