Together, these deals mean that Europe’s big energy companies want to return to business as usual with Russia, despite the continuing conflict in Ukraine and the EU’s continuing sanctions on Russia.

Low oil prices risk causing a lack of investment in conventional oil supply in non-OPEC countries, strengthening OPEC market power and creating additional uncertainty, the IEA's director for energy markets and security, Keisuke Sadamori, said Tuesday.

Preliminary government data showed oil and gas output over the first six months of this year rose 3 percent compared with 2014. The increase comes after years of investments in new technologies that have meant new fields are run more efficiently. However, the recent slump in oil prices has tightened oil companies' purse strings and Oil & Gas UK expects capital expenditure to fall to 10-11 billion pounds ($16.91 billion)this year, down from 14.7 billion pounds last year.

Energy companies have been hurt by the swoon in crude prices this year, but Canadian Oil Sands is among the worst performing. The company’s stock has lost almost 40% of its value so far this year, compared with a 22% decline in the Toronto Stock Exchange energy index.

Осуществленные инвестиции в добычу пока еще добавляют объемы на рынок, но происходящие сокращения инвестиций уже начинают оказывать влияние. В перспективе нескольких лет, несомненно, скажется эффект осуществляемых сейчас программ снижения инвестиций, прежде всего, со стороны транснациональных корпораций. Пока реализация их долгосрочных, начатых еще до нынешнего кризиса, инвестиционных программ выразилась даже в некотором росте добычи. Но уже в 2014 году нефтяные гиганты заявили о сокращении инвестиций в добычу, в 2015 году дополнительные сокращения на 10-20% и выше были анонсированы такими мейджерами как BP, Shell, Chevron, Total. Общая сумма сокращений инвестиций в добычу в мире составила около 140 млрд долларов, а к концу 2016 году увеличится до 200-250 млрд. долларов. В перспективе 2-3 лет это неизбежно скажется на уровня добычи и будет иметь долгосрочный негативный эффект.

Oil declined for a second day after another Russian official ruled out cooperation on production cuts with OPEC, adding to signs that a global oversupply will persist.

Amidst the gloomy days of August when Brent Crude bottomed out at $42/bbl, the acquisition of Cameron by Schlumberger ($14.8 billion) took place as one of the largest mergers in the oil patch, following the tie-up of Halliburton and Baker Hughes ($32 billion) in November 2014. This consolidation has resulted in an integrated service & equipment provider covering the full oil & gas lifecycle from reservoir to first flow.

On measures including cash flow, profit margins and share prices, OAO Rosneft, Lukoil PJSC-- Russia’s two largest oil producers -- and OAO Gazprom Neft are performing better than Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc or Exxon Mobil Corp.

U.S. crude-oil futures remained in negative territory Tuesday in Asian trade, tracking the previous day’s drop in Brent crude when U.S. markets were shut for a holiday.

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's state oil giant, is talking to banks about raising a $5 billion loan related to a refinery it built in collaboration with China's Sinopec.