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.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, has raised June oil prices to Asia by the most in 14 months, in a hopeful sign that demand from the region is on the up.

“We still believe sustained front-month WTI at $45 to $50 will be self limiting, as U.S. shale-producer spending and drilling would stabilize and perhaps recover.”

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.

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

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.

Revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $1.59 billion compared with $2.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $2.79 billion in the first quarter of 2015. First quarter revenues declined 21% sequentially and 43% from the prior year. The sequential decline was 22% in North America and 21% for International operations. Product sales declined 30% sequentially, while service and rental revenue decreased by 16%. The product sales decline was as much seasonal as cyclical and most impacted the Eastern Hemisphere.

The reality is that the Kremlin is always likely to be heavily involved in the Russian oil industry. That creates the concern that the proposals might be structured to try to achieve higher prices, which is not consistent with efficient price discovery.

BP’s own forecast shows global energy demand rising one-third higher by 2035 than it is today, which would be like adding the total combined energy demand of the US, the European Union, and Japan. And it’s BP’s expectation that more than half of this demand will be met by oil and gas by 2035.

During the period, the unaudited oil and gas sales revenue of the Company reached approximately RMB24.64 billion, representing a decrease of 30.7% YoY, mainly due to the sharp decrease in international oil prices. The Company’s average realized oil price decreased 39.1% YoY to US$32.54 per barrel while the average realized gas price was US$5.69 per thousand cubic feet, down 14.8% YoY.