According to preliminary figures for 2015, the gas deliveries grew by 23.6 per cent to 1.7 billion cubic meters.

Nord Stream 2 will be built, according to Gazprom’s chairman of the board, Viktor Zubkov. “This means that customers will receive gas at favorable prices, but for this we need reliable sources of supply and uninterrupted means of transportation,” he said.

Ukraine, once one of Russia’s biggest foreign gas buyers, had a debt of more than $29 billion before Tuesday’s bill, according to Gazprom. Naftogaz has demanded almost $26 billion from Gazprom in Stockholm arbitration, claiming it overpaid for supplies and was paid too little for transit, with a court ruling not expected before the middle of the year.

Iran is in a good position to deliver on its target to raise oil output by 500,000 b/d within six weeks and by a further 500,000 b/d six months after that.

Although analysts are making cautious predictions in the short term, the EIA also indicates that prices in 2017 may be as high as $3.22/MMBtu, representing a major leap in prices for next year.

"We're playing close attention to the price of oil, and of course that has an important impact on the Canadian dollar, which we're also paying close attention to. In that context, we know that it's doubly important that we think about how we can make investments that have an impact on the economy ... and also think about how we can improve our long-term effectiveness as a country and to increase our long-term rate of growth."

Nord Stream-2 project would develop rapidly in 2016. The pipeline extension project continues to move ahead, despite opposition to from several European countries

Russia's Gazprom and a group of European companies agreed on the project last year, raising protests mostly among central and southern European countries.

U.S. Rig Count is down 14 rigs from last week to 650, with oil rigs down 1 to 515, and gas rigs down 13 to 135.

Forecast Brent crude oil prices average $40/b in 2016 and $50/b in 2017. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $2/b lower than Brent in 2016 and $3/b lower in 2017. However, the current values of futures and options contracts continue to suggest high uncertainty in the price outlook.