Total SA is seeking the equivalent of up to $15 billion in Chinese financing to fund its expansion in Russia, its chief executive said, as U.S. sanctions complicate the French oil giant’s big bet there.

The Bulgarian government finds itself in a position where it needs to secure long-term reliable natural gas supplies, after two successive failures in the past few years to get involved in major infrastructure projects, namely the Nabucco and the South Stream pipelines.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız claimed the allegation regarding the 10.25 percent discount agreement reached with Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom was not real.

From the first day of the summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the message resonated loudly: there seems to be one single front against Russia and toward the creation of the Energy Union, while a widespread criticism over the European approach to the Greek saga emerged amid tensions.

Russia may postpone completion of a huge pipeline to bring gas from two new fields to China, three sources with direct knowledge of the plans of export firm Gazprom said, delaying one of President Vladimir Putin's signature projects.

Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman is preparing to sell a dozen North Sea gasfields at the heart of a fierce row over ownership, in a move that would avert a high-profile legal battle with the UK government.

As the West tightened its grip on Russia with sanctions, particularly in energy, following the annexation of Crimea last year, the European Union is trying to expand its cooperation to counter Russia's dominant position in energy sector.

U.S. oil and gas major ExxonMobil has asked the Russian government to reimburse taxes worth "several billion roubles" it says it overpaid on a project in the far east of Russia.

Statoil ASA plans to drill four wells in Russia with state oil company OAO Rosneft, targeting heavy oil fields, showing Norway’s biggest energy producer is deepening its involvement in the country against the backdrop of international sanctions.

Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s investment fund said Wednesday it sent a “detailed response” to U.K. government objections to its deal to take over offshore natural-gas fields amid a period of icy relations between Moscow and the West.