Natural gas consumption in the 28-nation European Union grew by some 4% last year to 426.3bn m3, according to latest estimates from Eurogas, the trade association representing 43 gas wholesale and distribution companies.

U.S. Rig Count is down 14 rigs from last week to 450, with oil rigs down 10 to 362, and gas rigs down 4 to 88. Canadian Rig Count is down 6 rigs from last week to 49, with oil rigs unchanged at 11, and gas rigs down 6 to 38.

The world’s biggest oil exporter lost ground to rivals in nine out of 15 top markets between 2013 and 2015, including China, South Africa and the US, according to an analysis of customs data.

China, the world's top energy user, is keen to boost cleaner burning natural gas consumption to tackle air pollution.

Even if demand can rise to meet existing and under construction supply, this doesn't necessarily support the development of a raft of proposed projects.

The drilling cost per foot, based on total depth, and the completion cost per foot, based on lateral length, are both projected to maintain these lower cost trends through 2018. Sustained lower upstream costs may affect near-term oil and natural gas markets, and ultimately, the prices of these fuels.

“The company continues to improve its efficiency responding to the challenges of the global market. In Q4 2015 upstream operating expenses per boe and maintenance expense of the Russian refinery in RUB terms slightly increased in comparison with Q4 2014, despite of the growth in industry prices by 10.7%. Increase in earnings before interests, tax and depreciation by 17.8% in 2015, in terms of significant decline in RUB and USD denominated oil prices show an effective control over operating costs that allowed the Company to reduce its debt burden considerably, significantly increasing the sustainability of the business in challenging macroeconomic environment”

Brent oil prices dropped below $40/bbl on the London market on Mar. 29 after news reports about the restart of production from Khafji oil field, which had been closed since October 2014. Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. and Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations Co. jointly operate the 300,000-b/d field. No restart date was given.

In 2015, the seven biggest publicly traded Western energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, replaced just 75% of the oil and natural gas they pumped, on average, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of company data. It was the biggest combined drop in inventory that companies have reported in at least a decade.

U.S. crude production is forecast to drop from 9.4 million barrels per day in 2015 to 8.7 million bpd in 2016 and 8.2 million bpd in 2017.

U.S. crude oil production from the Lower 48 states from new wells (drilled since the start of 2014) made up 48% of total U.S. crude oil production in 2015, up from 22% in 2007. Production from new wells has grown as advances in horizontal drilling and completion techniques led to growth in oil production from low-permeability tight reservoirs. In 2015, production from tight formations—which include, but are not limited to, shale plays—accounted for more than 4 million barrels per day (b/d), or 50% of total U.S. oil production.

Germany consumed 5% more gas and its imports were 13% higher than in 2014. But the surprising statistic is that its 2015 exports of gas grew by 35% year-on-year to top 30bn m3.

The U.K. is the second-largest liquids producer in Europe (after Norway), producing one million b/d in 2015. This amount is large among European countries but small in the global market, and the U.K. remains a net importer of petroleum and other liquids. More than 97% of its liquids production in 2015 came from offshore fields, where petroleum development projects have long lead times. The majority of the offshore crude and condensate fields that began production in 2015 were approved in 2012 or earlier when oil prices were much higher.

Turkey has for the first time imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US in 2016, said the message from Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA).

Persistently low oil prices complicate the conduct of monetary policy, risking further inroads by unanchored inflation expectations. What is more, the current episode of historically low oil prices could ignite a variety of dislocations including corporate and sovereign defaults, dislocations that can feed back into already jittery financial markets. The possibility of such negative feedback loops makes demand support by the global community—along with a range of country-specific structural and financial-sector reforms—all the more urgent.