In Saudi Arabia, Saipem has been awarded an extension of three years to drilling activities being carried out by ten 2000 HP drilling rigs. In South America, in addition to various extensions ranging in duration from two to twenty-four months for medium and high power rigs in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile, Saipem has also been awarded a new contract for operations in Argentina, which will be carried out by an hydraulic type rig over a period of eighteen months.

Petróleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, pledged up to $74.1 billion in capital spending for the 2017-2021 period compared with a $98.4 billion target in the prior four-year 2015-2019 plan, according to a securities filing.

U.S. Rig Count is down 336 rigs from last year's count of 842, with oil rigs down 228, gas rigs down 109, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is down 50 rigs from last year's count of 182, with oil rigs up 5, gas rigs down 56, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.

President Chakrabarti welcomed Bulgaria’s recent actions to strengthen the stability of its financial sector and promote the liberalisation of the energy market. He reconfirmed the EBRD’s commitment to support these reforms with investment and technical advice.

From January 1 to September 13, 2016, Gazprom supplied 8 billion cubic meters of gas to France, which was 27.3 per cent higher than in the same period of 2015.

U.S. oil production down 61 tbd, gas production doun 302 mcfd.

U.S. Rig Count is down 340 rigs from last year's count of 848, with oil rigs down 238, gas rigs down 104, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is down 51 rigs from last year's count of 185, with oil rigs up 4, gas rigs down 56, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.

Oil and gas companies are poised to increase spending on exploration and production globally by 5% in 2017, while offshore spending may continue to fall next year, based on Barclays’ midyear global spending survey of more than 200 companies.

“This important contract is a key milestone for the Nord Stream 2 project: It will provide the logistical back-bone for the construction phase and is fully in line with our project schedule,” said Nord Stream 2 chief project officer Henning Kothe. “We are also pleased that Wasco will be co-operating with the ports, which successfully participated already in implementation of the existing Nord Stream.”

The international rig count for August 2016 was 937 down 1 from the 938 counted in July 2016, and down 200 from the 1,137 counted in August 2015. The international offshore rig count for August 2016 was 228, up 2 from the 226 counted in July 2016, and down 42 from the 270 counted in August 2015.