The rout in crude prices is snowballing into one of the biggest avalanches in the history of corporate America, with 59 oil and gas companies now bankrupt after this week's filings for creditor protection by Midstates Petroleum MPOY.PK and Ultra Petroleum UPL.NL.

US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased 2.8 million bbl for the week ended Apr. 29 compared with the previous week. The US Energy Information Administration estimated a total of 543.4 million bbl, which is historically high for this time of year.

China’s falling oil output and sliding U.S. production may help rebalance a market struggling to recover from the worst price crash in a generation

American LNG will be part of the approach towards diversification of sources of gas in Europe, in contrast to projects like Nord Stream 2 or the revived South Stream, which she said are not real sources of diversification.

Halliburton’s chief executive has blamed an increasingly difficult US regulatory climate for the collapse of his company’s $28bn bid for rival Baker Hughes, which was abandoned on Sunday.

U.S. Rig Count is down 11 rigs from last week to 420, with oil rigs down 11 to 332, gas rigs down 1 to 87, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1. Canadian Rig Count is down 3 rigs from last week to 37, with oil rigs down 2 to 10, gas rigs down 1 to 26, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

“Expanding LNG exports will create American jobs, grow our economy, strengthen the global marketplace and bolster strategic alliances abroad. U.S. LNG exports not only provide international consumers with greater choice, but also help them break dependence on nations that use their energy resources as a diplomatic and political weapon.

Russia has been developing new pipeline projects such as South Stream, Turk Stream and Nord Stream 2. If one of them were to be realized then transit risk stemming from Ukraine would be severely minimized and Moscow would have important strategic leverage.

U.S. Rig Count is down 9 rigs from last week to 431, with oil rigs down 8 to 343, and gas rigs down 1 to 88. Canadian Rig Count remains unchanged at 40, with oil rigs up 2 to 12, and gas rigs down 3 to 27.

The sharp decline in oil prices since the fourth quarter of 2014 has had a significant effect on drilling in the United States. The number of active onshore drilling rigs in the Lower 48 states fell 78% (from 1,876 to 412) between the weeks ending on October 31, 2014, and April 15, 2016, according to data from BakerHughes. The decline in active rigs and well completions is projected to result in month-over-month onshore oil production declines of 120,000 b/d through September 2016.