Total has picked up a 23 per cent stake in renewable energy company Eren for €237.5m as the the French oil group looks to expand its capacity in the sector.

“The principal risk regarding Russian and Chinese activities in Venezuela in the near term is that they will exploit the unfolding crisis, including the effect of US sanctions, to deepen their control over Venezuela’s resources, and their [financial] leverage over the country as an anti-US political and military partner,” observed R. Evan Ellis, a senior associate in the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Americas Program.

BP has agreed with Bridas Corporation to form a new integrated energy company by combining their interests in the oil and gas producer Pan American Energy and the refiner and marketer Axion Energy in a cash-free transaction. The new company, Pan American Energy Group, will be the largest privately-owned integrated energy company operating in Argentina.

IMF - When we think about Asia’s economic future, we know that this future is being built on strong foundations—on the richness and diversity of its cultures, on the incredible energy and ingenuity of the people who have changed the world by transforming their own economies. China and India have been driving the greatest poverty reduction in human history by creating the world’s largest middle classes. In a single generation, Vietnam has moved from being one of the world’s poorest nations to being a middle-income country.

We reiterate our commitment to a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF to preserve its role at the center of the Global Financial Safety Net. We support the work of the IMF to strengthen its cooperation with regional financing arrangements, and its ongoing work to further enhance the effectiveness of its lending toolkit.

CEFC China Energy is set to take a stake of almost $9bn in Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft, in a major strengthening of energy ties between Beijing and Moscow as relations deteriorate with the west.

“There was a request from our colleagues in Venezuela to carry out a restructuring,” Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov said. “There are difficulties in fulfilling the debt.”

The worldwide rig count for August 2017 was 2,116, up 6 from the 2,110 counted in July 2017, and up 569 from the 1,547 counted in August 2016.

“We welcome the President’s commitment to pro-growth tax reform, and look forward to working with the administration and Congress on continuing our nation’s energy leadership. Pro-growth tax reform and economic policies can further strengthen our energy infrastructure and benefit consumers. As an industry that invests billions in the U.S. economy each year, pro-growth policies would allow us to accelerate these economic investments while keeping energy affordable. Private investment in our nation’s energy infrastructure could exceed $1.3 trillion and support 1 million jobs annually through 2035.”

Norway’s $970-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, should allocate a bigger share of its investments to renewable energy to boost returns, a U.S. energy policy think-tank said

Rosneft Successfully Closes Strategic Deal for the Acquisition of 49% of Essar Oil Limited

Iran, Russia and Turkey signed agreement on maintaining trilateral cooperation in developing oil and gas fields.

"The legislation, if enacted, is a big political win for members of Congress who want to take a strong stance on Russia," Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow and director of the energy, economics and security program at the Center for a New American Security, said Sunday. "It will rearrange the way the global energy industry does business with Russia and significantly increase the risk around dealings with Russia."

Fitch Ratings anticipates most investment-grade and 'BB' category U.S. E&P companies will see minimal ratings changes in a steady $45 per barrel environment as the realization of further production efficiency gains and lower costs per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) should contribute to resilient margins and cash flow.

The move fulfills a plan, first outlined in February, to create an Indian oil giant through consolidation and mergers, forming a company comparable with international rivals that could weather crude-price volatility.