BP PLC, on behalf of the Shah Deniz consortium, has let a $1.5-billion contract for the transport and installation of the deeper water subsea production systems for Shah Deniz Stage 2 offshore Azerbaijan to the BOS Shelf LLC, Saipem Contracting Netherlands BV, and Star Gulf FZCO consortium.

On Friday, however, Export-Import Bank of China and China Development Bank signed two 15-year loans, for €9.34bn ($10.7bn) and Rmb9.76bn ($1.5bn) on Friday, according to regulatory statements from Yamal LNG.

If this price drop does happen, then Norway will be caught in the crossfire, as its production is more expensive than Gazprom's. Further, Gazprom has already developed the giant Bovanenkovo field in the Yamal Peninsula, where output has been curtailed as export markets and Gazprom's own domestic demand have have not required the additional gas. This means it is in a position to bring more cheap gas to market at little additional cost beyond transport. For Norway, however, adding more production capacity entails more capital expenditure.

U.S. Rig Count is down 5 rigs from last week to 415, with oil rigs down 4 to 328, gas rigs down 1 to 86, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is down 1 rig from last week to 36, with oil rigs up 1 to 11, gas rigs down 2 to 24, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

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.

Russian state-owned oil and gas giant Gazprom is currently working to create a liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution hub in Bahrain. The hub will be meant to intake LNG from various sources, including Russia.

Gazprom reported the average production cost of natural gas in 2015 at ₽1643 per 1000 cubic meters (mcm) or $27.09/mcm or $0.84/MMBtu. The corresponding numbers for 2014 are ₽1470/mcm, $38.73/mcm and $1.21/MMBtu. The cost in US dollars is affected by the devaluation of Russian ruble. The average US dollar rate in 2015 was ₽60.66 compared with ₽37.97 in 2014.

Adjusted net income was 572 million euros, compared with 928 million in the same quarter of the previous year, which included exceptional earnings of 500 million euros due mostly to the company’s dollar position after receiving funds for the expropriation of YPF, subsequently used for the acquisition of Talisman.

ZUG, SWITZERLAND-May 4, 2016-Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) today reported net income attributable to controlling interest of $249 million, $0.68 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2016. First quarter 2016 results included net unfavorable items of $5 million, $0.01 per diluted share, as follows: $4 million, $0.01 per diluted share, in restructuring costs associated with employee severance; and $2 million related to the loss on impairment of the midwater floater Transocean John Shaw, which the company has identified for recycling.