Libya's production was down to 212,000 barrels on Monday, after the largest National Oil Corp (NOC) subsidiary, AGOCO, was forced to slash output by one-third from southeastern fields, an NOC spokesman in Tripoli said.

Light, sweet crude prices for June delivery varied widely on the New York market during Apr. 29 trading, closing at $45.92/bbl after swinging from a daily high of $46.78 and a low of $45.24.

The pullout comes as crude oil prices have plummeted to less than half their June 2014 levels, forcing oil companies to slash spending. For Shell and ConocoPhillips, the decision to abandon Arctic acreage was formalized just before a May 1 due date to pay the U.S. government millions of dollars in rent to keep holdings in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska.

If this price drop does happen, then Norway will be caught in the crossfire, as its production is more expensive than Gazprom's. Further, Gazprom has already developed the giant Bovanenkovo field in the Yamal Peninsula, where output has been curtailed as export markets and Gazprom's own domestic demand have have not required the additional gas. This means it is in a position to bring more cheap gas to market at little additional cost beyond transport. For Norway, however, adding more production capacity entails more capital expenditure.

“We still believe sustained front-month WTI at $45 to $50 will be self limiting, as U.S. shale-producer spending and drilling would stabilize and perhaps recover.”

The rout in crude prices is snowballing into one of the biggest avalanches in the history of corporate America, with 59 oil and gas companies now bankrupt after this week's filings for creditor protection by Midstates Petroleum MPOY.PK and Ultra Petroleum UPL.NL.

US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased 2.8 million bbl for the week ended Apr. 29 compared with the previous week. The US Energy Information Administration estimated a total of 543.4 million bbl, which is historically high for this time of year.

China’s falling oil output and sliding U.S. production may help rebalance a market struggling to recover from the worst price crash in a generation

American LNG will be part of the approach towards diversification of sources of gas in Europe, in contrast to projects like Nord Stream 2 or the revived South Stream, which she said are not real sources of diversification.

Gazprom reported the average production cost of natural gas in 2015 at ₽1643 per 1000 cubic meters (mcm) or $27.09/mcm or $0.84/MMBtu. The corresponding numbers for 2014 are ₽1470/mcm, $38.73/mcm and $1.21/MMBtu. The cost in US dollars is affected by the devaluation of Russian ruble. The average US dollar rate in 2015 was ₽60.66 compared with ₽37.97 in 2014.

Royal Dutch Shell’s first quarter 2016 CCS earnings attributable to shareholders (see Note 3) were $0.8 billion compared with $4.8 billion for the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted net income was 572 million euros, compared with 928 million in the same quarter of the previous year, which included exceptional earnings of 500 million euros due mostly to the company’s dollar position after receiving funds for the expropriation of YPF, subsequently used for the acquisition of Talisman.

ZUG, SWITZERLAND-May 4, 2016-Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) today reported net income attributable to controlling interest of $249 million, $0.68 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2016. First quarter 2016 results included net unfavorable items of $5 million, $0.01 per diluted share, as follows: $4 million, $0.01 per diluted share, in restructuring costs associated with employee severance; and $2 million related to the loss on impairment of the midwater floater Transocean John Shaw, which the company has identified for recycling.

David L. Stover, Noble Energy's Chairman, President and CEO, commented, "We are off to a solid start this year and have made substantial progress on our goals for 2016. Our high-quality and diverse portfolio is delivering strong results, giving us the confidence to lower our full year capital and cost outlook while raising volumes substantially. We have aligned our business within cash flows and are continuing to protect our investment-grade balance sheet. Significant capital efficiency gains and outstanding operating performance, combined with robust liquidity, position us well in any price scenario."

Revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $1.59 billion compared with $2.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $2.79 billion in the first quarter of 2015. First quarter revenues declined 21% sequentially and 43% from the prior year. The sequential decline was 22% in North America and 21% for International operations. Product sales declined 30% sequentially, while service and rental revenue decreased by 16%. The product sales decline was as much seasonal as cyclical and most impacted the Eastern Hemisphere.