Royal Dutch Shell PLC is days away from drilling in the Arctic Ocean—betting it can find enough oil to justify the huge risks that keep almost every other competitor out of those icy waters.

Rosneft Chairman of the Management Board and Essar Group Founder Shashi Ruia signed a long-term contract for oil supplies for the purpose of refining at the Vadinar refinery (India).

HONGHUA GROUP issued a profit warning, expecting the net profit for the six months ended 30 June 2015 to decrease significantly as compared to that for the same period in 2014 and may record a loss.

Technip will reduce its global workforce by 6,000 employees and accelerate cost reduction and efficiency in “anticipation of an even more challenging environment in oil and gas.”

North Sea Brent crude oil prices averaged $61/barrel (b) in June, a $3/b decrease from May. Crude oil prices fell by about $4/b on July 6 in the aftermath of the "no" vote in Greece on the economic program, as well as lingering concerns about lower economic growth in China, higher oil exports from Iran, and continuing growth in global petroleum and other liquids inventories.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $41.9 billion in May, up $1.2 billion from $40.7 billion in April, revised.

Running from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream I is an export gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. Nord Stream AG is the project operator (Gazprom holds 51 per cent, Wintershall and E.ON – 15.5 per cent and ENGIE – 9 per cent).

The implementation of the terms of the signed document will allow Rosneft to access the high growth potential Egyptian gas market and deepen broader cooperation between the two companies. In addition the cooperation with EGAS will allow Rosneft to strengthen its position in the global LNG trading market.

China's crude oil output looks set to rise this year from a record in 2014 as new production from third largest producer CNOOC helps to counter reductions from its two bigger rivals.

The economic battle that is currently taking shape will have global ramifications for many years to come. Energy is certainly playing a major role in this economic battle, with Moscow seeking to counteract the desire of Washington and Brussels to divide Russia from Europe. The Russian government unquestionably has massive power owing to the amount of energy exportation that it is involved in, and a lack of cooperation in this regard would certainly be damaging to numerous Western companies and countries alike.