Europe’s biggest oil groups are extending business deals with their Russian energy partners despite this month’s EU vote to continue imposing sanctions, highlighting how western companies are learning to live with the restrictions placed on Moscow.

Gazprom revived its contract with Italian contractor Saipem (controlled by state-run Eni SpA). The Milan-based company had signed two contracts worth €2.4 bn in total for the construction of an undersea pipeline and support services for construction of a second undersea pipeline, both part of much touted South Stream. The contract terms are now being renegotiated, so as to start construction in time for the 2016 deadline.

Global trade of natural gas via pipelines fell the most on record last year as Russia halted exports to Ukraine and shipments declined from the Netherlands, the European Union’s biggest producer, according to BP.

The most significant development on the supply side in 2014 was undoubtedly the continuing revolution in US shale. The US recorded the largest increase in oil production in the world, becoming the first country ever to increase average annual production by at least 1 million barrels per day for three consecutive years.

OAO Novatek announced Thursday that Novatek Gas & Power, a wholly owned trading subsidiary of Novatek, has signed a long-term contract with Shell International Trading Middle East for the supply of LNG from the Yamal LNG project.

The European Union last October reached an outline deal on three 2030 targets to cut emissions by at least 40 percent versus 1990, improve energy savings to at least 27 percent and to increase the share of renewable energy to 27 percent.

If Greece withdraws from the Turkish Stream project, which is planned to transfer Russian natural gas to Europe via the Turkish-Greek border, the U.S. will expect the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reward Greece

Russia will begin importing Iranian oil under a long-heralded oil-for-goods barter arrangement in the coming week, Iran's oil minister was quoted as saying, more than a year after negotiations began.

Russia is still likely to be Europe's biggest supplier of gas. Volume-wise, no one will be able to compete with Russia in Europe, at least for the next two decades.

The volume of gas supply via the western route might be boosted to 60 and to 100 billion cubic meters of gas a year.