Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude oil to India, where oil demand grew by 5.7% last year and is expected by the International Energy Agency to increase 6.3% this year.

Last month, the state-owned Southern Gas Corridor Company (SGCC) raised $1bn in a 10-year eurobond at 6.875% yield. However, it met only half of its original plan.

Total capital investment in the oil and natural gas sector is forecast to decline to $31 billion in 2016, down from a record $81 billion in 2014.

Gas shall play a more important role, with more shares in the total Chinese primary energy mix. And, the Chinese natural gas market is at a turning point, as indicated by many experts at Gastech 2015’s conference. The Chinese gas industry is facing many challenges also because of gas demand contraction due to the new normal Chinese economy. In the previous 10-15 years, we had double digit gas demand growth, but in 2014-2015 it was only single digits. Last year it was only 8.6%. This year, in the last 3 quarters, the growth was only 2.7%.

The prospect of Sino-Russian gas cooperation could be very broad and more importantly decades of negotiation, joint projects and interactions have laid the foundation for future cooperation.

The sale of Aramco, or Saudi Arabian Oil Co., is planned for 2018 or even a year earlier, according to the prince. The fund will then play a major role in the economy, investing at home and abroad. It would be big enough to buy Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. -- the world’s four largest publicly traded companies.

BP’s Energy Outlook for 2016 forecasts that by 2035 shale gas will account for a quarter of total gas produced globally and China will become the world’s largest contributor to growth in shale gas production.

The framework agreement includes opportunities for joint investment in future oil and gas exploration, and possible oil and gas trading deals, including LNG.

The world’s biggest oil exporter, known as Saudi Aramco, won’t cancel any oil, gas or refining projects, Amin Nasser told reporters during a conference in Al-Ahsa in eastern Saudi Arabia. Aramco is also studying a possible expansion of the country’s largest oil refinery, Ras Tanura, which has a capacity of 550,000 barrels a day, he said Wednesday.

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.

Critics said the deal gave too much profit to corporations at the public's expense. The court opposed a clause that would prevent Israel from making significant regulatory changes for the next ten years.

The Rockefeller Family Fund said on Wednesday it would divest from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and "eliminate holdings" of Exxon Mobil Corp, saying the oil company associated with the family fortune has misled the public about climate change risks.

Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed it is reviewing the case for selling some of its North Sea assets in the wake of its £35bn takeover of rival oil and gas producer, BG Group.

Rosneft set a new record, having increased hydrocarbon production up to 254.2 mmtoe (5.16 mmboed). Development drilling meterage increased by 36% and reached 6.9 mln meters. More than 1.8 thousand of new wells were commissioned.

Europe and Russia are each trying to diversify—the first by getting more gas suppliers, and the second by trying to sell more gas to China and East Asia.