Demise of South Stream big setback for Putin. Russia’s deal with Turkey cannot be deemed a serious replacement.

Gazprom, the state gas company, has been at the forefront of Moscow’s push to expand its influence into the Balkans – a region beset with economic and political difficulties.

After OPEC’s announcement last week that it would not be cutting production, oil prices fell dramatically.

Schlumberger , the world’s largest oil services group, is cutting back its fleet for offshore geological surveys and taking an $800m writedown on the value of its ships, in the first significant cutback in the industry following the recent fall in crude prices.

Russia urges EU to lift sanctions, promises to waive counter-measures

USA sees shale gas production decline, no progress observed in shale gas development abroad

Russia did not ask OPEC for production cuts.

After the failure of its risky exploration strategy this year, Norwegian oil firm Statoil is cutting costs as fast and deep as it can to preserve cash for dividends

Gulf stock markets plunged on Sunday after OPEC's decision to keep crude output unchanged sent oil prices tumbling at the end of last week.

The Blue Stream gas pipeline is important for ensuring stable gas supplies to Turkey. For instance, around 110 billion cubic meters of gas have been conveyed via Blue Stream since the start of commercial gas deliveries. The meeting participants stressed that Russian gas exports via that route were gradually increasing, and this upward trend could continue. In this regard, the parties confirmed their mutual intention to expand Blue Stream's capacity by 3 billion cubic meters.