Before Donald Tusk became president of the European Council, the former Polish prime minister had already begun campaigning for a European energy union.

Deals for North Sea oilfields — which have been held back by the plummeting price of Brent crude — could soon come back on stream, as a new tax cut helps to draw in private equity investors.

European companies are increasing their focus on offshore projects, securing an increase of their financing facilities and forging joint ventures to reduce costs.

But now, with prices low, the risk of getting busted by Nigeria’s navy now outweighs the get-rich rewards of sabotaging pipelines, stealing oil and smuggling vast quantities of it onto international markets. Indeed, some of these thieves have reverted to plunking fish traps in the waters they helped pollute.

The United States will struggle to follow through on threats to impose deeper sanctions on the Russian energy sector, as European fears over collateral economic damage leave President Barack Obama's administration with diminished options.

Russia is using natural gas as a political tool and the United States needs to know if it is “on the same page” with Turkey regarding Russia’s actions, a top U.S. energy envoy has said.

The world’s biggest energy groups have sold record amounts of debt this year, taking advantage of historically low interest rates to plug cash shortfalls with borrowing, after a 50 per cent plunge in oil prices.

Companies within Russia’s energy industry should take advantage of Cyprus’ existing and potential opportunities relating to natural gas infrastructural projects, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday.

Total SA is seeking the equivalent of up to $15 billion in Chinese financing to fund its expansion in Russia, its chief executive said, as U.S. sanctions complicate the French oil giant’s big bet there.

The Bulgarian government finds itself in a position where it needs to secure long-term reliable natural gas supplies, after two successive failures in the past few years to get involved in major infrastructure projects, namely the Nabucco and the South Stream pipelines.