Gazprom has every opportunity for financing the scheduled transboundary gas transmission projects.

U.S. Rig Count is up 19 rigs from last week to 876, with oil rigs up 21 to 659, gas rigs down 2 to 216, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. U.S. Rig Count is down 1,007 rigs from last year at 1,883, with oil rigs down 903, gas rigs down 102, and miscellaneous rigs down 2. The U.S. Offshore rig count is 31, unchanged from last week, and down 29 rigs year over year. Canadian Rig Count is up 8 rigs from last week to 200, with oil rigs unchanged at 98, and gas rigs up 8 to 102. Canadian Rig Count is down 195 rigs from last year at 395, with oil rigs down 140, and gas rigs down 55.

Last week, Operator Statoil and its PL146/PL333 partner Total E&P Norge announced they made a gas and condensate discovery in the Julius prospect in the King Lear area in Norway’s North Sea

Fifteen nations, more than half of them from the former Soviet bloc, endorsed an action plan to improve energy infrastructure and ultimately to ensure each of them maintains three separate sources of supply. Ministers meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice president in charge of energy union, chose seven gas link projects that should be sped up and that may be eligible for financial support.

This month the head of the EBRD said the bank could invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Ukraine's energy sector this year, but that any investment would depend on Kiev implementing long-promised energy sector reforms.

For many years, Russia has advocated that the frequent gas interruptions are the fault of transit states such as Ukraine, whom the Kremlin sees as unreliable. As a result, Gazprom rolled out several pipeline projects that would bypass Ukraine altogether and provide a direct route to its customer base in Europe.

U.S. Rig Count is up 1 rig from last week to 863, with oil rigs up 5 to 645, gas rigs down 2 to 217, and miscellaneous rigs down 2 to 1.

Eni has started production of the giant gas field Perla, located in the Gulf of Venezuela, 50 kilometers offshore. The first production well has been opened and is currently in the clean-up phase.

Running from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream I is an export gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. Nord Stream AG is the project operator (Gazprom holds 51 per cent, Wintershall and E.ON – 15.5 per cent and ENGIE – 9 per cent).

The implementation of the terms of the signed document will allow Rosneft to access the high growth potential Egyptian gas market and deepen broader cooperation between the two companies. In addition the cooperation with EGAS will allow Rosneft to strengthen its position in the global LNG trading market.

Europe could take advantage of global LNG dynamics, but much of the evolution of the European LNG market depends on Gazprom’s decisions in the short to medium term,

After the cancellation of the South Stream natural gas pipeline last December due to the EU’s blockage of the project, Russia announced an alternative project called the Turkish Stream which will hit the shore on the European side of Turkey near Kıyıköy.

Rosneft Brasil (Rosneft subsidiary) and PetroRio received approval by the Brazilian National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) for the Rosneft Brasil transaction to acquire additional 55% in the Solimoes project. Under the agreement the final completion date of the purchase and transaction shall be agreed between PetroRio and Rosneft Brasil and is expect to occur within 30 days.

U.S. Rig Count is up 3 rigs from last week to 862, with oil rigs up 12 to 640, gas rigs down 9 to 219, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 3.

Turkey remains reluctant to enter the EU Energy Community, as it would decrease its leeway on its energy policies. European laws can suit some other neighbours, but Turkey is a completely different case. Its importance for Europe, in the energy sector or in relation to migration issues, should not be underestimated.