Deepwater oil projects and complex gas facilities worth around $200 billion have been cancelled or put on hold worldwide in recent months due to the sharp drop in oil prices over the past year, consultancy Ernst and Young said.

Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil says it will lay off up to 1,500 staff and 500 consultants by the end of to slash costs.

"Uncertainty is the rule of the game in this industry," the head of France's Total Patrick Pouyanne said this month. "We are in the long-term business. This is why at Total we are keen to maintain our commitment to Russia."

“Now we are facing a stagnant demand both for oil and gas globally. These two commodities are providing 70% of Russian export and 50% of Russian federal budget revenues, so you can imagine how painful that is.”

Gazprom revived its contract with Italian contractor Saipem (controlled by state-run Eni SpA). The Milan-based company had signed two contracts worth €2.4 bn in total for the construction of an undersea pipeline and support services for construction of a second undersea pipeline, both part of much touted South Stream. The contract terms are now being renegotiated, so as to start construction in time for the 2016 deadline.

China’s ambassador to the Philippines has suggested that the two countries sit down for talks on the most squeamish territorial dispute in Asia. The question of who controls the fishery-rich, 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea, also full of oil and natural gas as well as major world shipping lanes, could proceed from military preparations to a calm negotiating room. The two governments – both unusually aggressive in asserting rival claims to the sea — might be able to work something out. The Philippines is talking now to Taiwan to agree on law enforcement in their own overlapping waters.

U.S. Rig Count is down 9 rigs from last week to 859, with oil rigs down 7 to 635, gas rigs down 1 to 221, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 3. U.S. Rig Count is down 995 rigs from last year at 1854, with oil rigs down 907, gas rigs down 89, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. The U.S. Offshore rig count is 29, up 2 rigs from last week, and down 30 rigs year over year.

According to Statistics Norway, total investments in oil and gas activity in 2016 should be NOK 184.9 billion, which is 1.4% higher than the corresponding estimate for 2015.

Iran needs $100 billion to rebuild its gas industry and has met with European energy giants as an end to decades of international sanctions looms, according to the state-run company in charge of discussions.

Global trade of natural gas via pipelines fell the most on record last year as Russia halted exports to Ukraine and shipments declined from the Netherlands, the European Union’s biggest producer, according to BP.