December 2015

Non-OPEC crude oil and other liquids production grows by 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2015, and then declines by 0.4 million b/d in 2016, which would be the first annual decline in non-OPEC production since 2008.

LNG to northeast Asia, home to the world’s biggest consumers, plunged 27% this year, outpacing Brent’s 23% slump as of Wednesday. While analyst estimates show that crude will recover in 2016, prices for the super-chilled fuel will probably extend declines by as much as 23%.

Qatar's LNG is expensive compared to Russian gas (although Russian gas is also not cheap). New LNG terminals will not be easy to build in the short term; it is a very expensive process. It also possible to increase the efficiency of processing and transmission of gas through the introduction of modern technology, however, it will not completely solve the problem.

Australia’s $170-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction boom is winding down, and the hunt for new work is picking up.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, is targeting $15.1 billion in disposals by the end of next year but has struggled to sell assets in less attractive prospects off Brazil and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron, the second-largest energy company in the U.S. by revenue, and other major oil companies have been cutting costs and capital spending plans in response to an extended downturn in prices for crude.

EIA forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $53/b in 2015 and $56/b in 2016. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $4/b lower than the Brent price in 2015 and $5/b lower in 2016.

Gazprom’s activities in the Caspian Sea region and its negotiations with China show that Russia is increasingly looking for opportunities to strengthen its position in other regional energy markets, even though this is connected with high political and economic costs.

Differing views about who should bear the brunt of oil production cuts to lift prices forced Opec to default to its existing policy to keep on pumping last week. This has laid bare the gaping divide between Saudi Arabia and its arch rival Iran.

Nord Stream 2 project will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2019, in line with previous declarations that forecasted the new pipeline to be commissioned in 2019.