Norway's previously long-standing cordial relations with Russia have deteriorated to the point that there is a real chance that simmering feelings could escalate, leading to a breakdown of cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

The current recoverable volume of oil in fields and discoveries exceeds the estimated figure in 2005, and it is also presumed that more oil remains to be discovered. This is the result of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s (NPD’s) review of the resource basis in a select number of fields and discoveries on the Norwegian shelf between 2005 and 2014.

The European Union is forging, albeit with considerable debate and obstacles due to the national strategies of its member states, a long-term Energy Union that has natural gas as its basic component. EU energy diversification tools, which include LNG, see LNG steadily emerging as a basic method to achieve its Energy Union goals.

Discoveries of natural gas offshore Israel signalled the eastern Mediterranean as a new frontier for the development of natural gas resources. The gas discoveries provide a unique opportunity for Israel to change its mentality vis-à-vis neighbouring countries and view the resources as a tool for strengthening regional cooperation and solidarity through energy diplomacy. While security concerns in Israel remain paramount, diplomacy in the context of the eastern Mediterranean transcends traditional foreign and security policy considerations, and attempts to use economic and commercial means to interlink the countries of the region through energy relations.

Through a series of deals with Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled oil company, Trafigura exported almost 9m barrels of crude in April, worth more than $500m, according to port data compiled by Nefte Compass, an industry publication.

Сотрудничество компании "Роснефть" с венесуэльскими партнерами носит характер надежного и стратегического партнерства, ориентированного на долгосрочное взаимодействие.

"Indonesian energy minister Sudirman Said met with Iran's oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh last week. We [Indonesia and Iran] agreed on two things -- Indonesia to buy Iranian crude and Iran allows Indonesia to participate in upstream business there," Dadan Kusdiana, spokesman at the energy and mines ministry said Thursday.

The UK's new Conservative government is planning an energy bill to set up the new Oil and Gas Authority with the powers it needs to become a "robust, independent and effective regulator"

Total has achieved the significant milestone of producing a cumulative two billion barrels from its operated deep offshore Block 17 located 150 km off the coast of Angola. With the recent start up of CLOV, Block 17 has become Total’s most prolific site with production of over 700,000 barrels per day.

At the oil giant’s annual meeting on Wednesday in Dallas, CEO Rex Tillerson gave a stay-the-course outlook for the company, which has seen profits decline recently with lower prices for crude oil.