Crude oil production in October from seven major U.S. shale plays is expected to drop 80,000 b/d to 5.21 million b/d, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s latest Drilling Productivity Report.

Romania's intention to stop importing Russian gas will not affect export revenue of Gazprom, said Ivan Grachev, head of the RF State Duma Energy Committee. "Russian gas consumption in Romania is lower than random fluctuations of Gazprom exports to Europe", added Mr. Grachev.

The two PMs were reacting to a preliminary agreement between Russian giant Gazprom and Western energy concerns including BASF, E.ON, ENGIE, OMV and Shell on doubling the transport capacity of Nord Stream in early September.

Top-flight Western firms such as Shell, E.On, BASF, and Engie (formerly GDF Suez) have banded together with Russia’s Gazprom to double the capacity of Nord Stream, with hopes it will be operational by late 2019.

Britain’s oil and gas platform builders are facing their worst downturn in orders for 25 years, threatening thousands of jobs across the UK.

U.S. Rig Count is down 16 rigs from last week to 848, with oil rigs down 10 to 652, gas rigs down 6 to 196, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

OAO Rosneft will sell a stake in one of its largest oil-producing projects to ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas-investment arm of India’s biggest explorer, for $1.27 billion, people familiar with the plan said.

LNG imports by 10 nations in the region that receive the tanker-delivered fuel dropped 3.4% from a year earlier in August, after reaching a two-year high in March, according to data from Genscape. Russian pipeline supplies soared about 20% from a year earlier in August, remaining at the highest level this year, tracking declining crude prices, according to data from Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas producer.

Together, these deals mean that Europe’s big energy companies want to return to business as usual with Russia, despite the continuing conflict in Ukraine and the EU’s continuing sanctions on Russia.

Britain's North Sea oil and gas sector has shed more than 5,000 jobs since late last year, the country's new Oil and Gas Authority said on Monday, putting an official figure on job losses resulting from a year-long decline in oil prices.