Natural gas futures advanced in New York to the highest level in two weeks as concern eased that supplies would test storage limits before demand picks up with colder weather.

"The lifting of sanctions on Iran would be a game changer for world gas market," said Dr Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, secretary general of the Gas Exproting Countries Forum, Zawya news website has reported.

The deal between Russia and China for importing some 38 billion cubic meters/year of natural gas through a pipeline connecting the two countries represents a key development not only for the two parties involved, but also for the role it will have in shaping the global price of LNG, according to Shigeru Muraki, vice chairman of the board at Japan's Tokyo Gas.

After Exxon Mobil Corp. mounted a campaign to warn U.S. officials that prematurely halting work with Russian oil giant Rosneft on an exploratory oil well could foul the Arctic, the Obama administration last week gave the company a two-week reprieve from sanctions on Russia.

Qatar has no plans to pitch in as an alternative supplier as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian gas according to the country's energy minister, AFP has reported.

Crude-oil futures moved in a narrow price range in Asian hours Friday with market participants suggesting that the weak oil prices appear to have largely stabilized.

China, not Russia, could shape Asia’s energy future,

Russia says sanctions won't hurt rise in China oil exports

The United Arab Emirates is in no hurry to see OPEC cut its oil output target this year despite the sharp drop of global crude prices in the last few months, senior UAE energy officials indicated on Tuesday.

Moscow auctioned off its first successful debt sale in more than two months on Sept. 24 after cancelling a string of bond auctions because of the sour investment climate that continues to surround Russia.