The deal, which resolves arbitration proceedings between E.ON and Gazprom, will lead to a positive one-off effect of about 380 million euros ($425 million) on E.ON's core earnings (EBITDA) in the first quarter of 2016.

“The company continues to improve its efficiency responding to the challenges of the global market. In Q4 2015 upstream operating expenses per boe and maintenance expense of the Russian refinery in RUB terms slightly increased in comparison with Q4 2014, despite of the growth in industry prices by 10.7%. Increase in earnings before interests, tax and depreciation by 17.8% in 2015, in terms of significant decline in RUB and USD denominated oil prices show an effective control over operating costs that allowed the Company to reduce its debt burden considerably, significantly increasing the sustainability of the business in challenging macroeconomic environment”

Brent oil prices dropped below $40/bbl on the London market on Mar. 29 after news reports about the restart of production from Khafji oil field, which had been closed since October 2014. Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. and Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations Co. jointly operate the 300,000-b/d field. No restart date was given.

U.S. crude production is forecast to drop from 9.4 million barrels per day in 2015 to 8.7 million bpd in 2016 and 8.2 million bpd in 2017.

Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed it is reviewing the case for selling some of its North Sea assets in the wake of its £35bn takeover of rival oil and gas producer, BG Group.

Persistently low oil prices complicate the conduct of monetary policy, risking further inroads by unanchored inflation expectations. What is more, the current episode of historically low oil prices could ignite a variety of dislocations including corporate and sovereign defaults, dislocations that can feed back into already jittery financial markets. The possibility of such negative feedback loops makes demand support by the global community—along with a range of country-specific structural and financial-sector reforms—all the more urgent.

It is a challenging business environment but it's a sign of strong resilience that businesses can look ahead and still see opportunities that exist around the globe.

Neil Atkinson, head of the IEA’s Oil Industry and Markets Division, said in Singapore on Wednesday. About $300 billion is needed to sustain the current level of production, and nations including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Mexico are facing difficulty in keeping up investments, he said.

“Low oil prices fuel a reduction in risk-taking, and when there is less risk-taking, asset prices will fall. It can lead to a downward asset price spiral,”

“We furnish 20 percent of China’s crude oil imports – about one million barrels a day. But there’s a significant gap in what we are doing now, and what we can offer,” Nasser said. “Our investments in China’s entire oil value chain – integrating supply, refining, chemicals, lubes, distribution and marketing – don’t match our supply.”