Rosneft and BP today signed several agreements strengthening the long term strategic relationship between the two companies, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Total S.A. and Rosneft signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum an agreement, confirming the execution of a sale and purchase agreement with regard to the 16.67% share in PCK Raffinerie GmbH. The document was signed by Rosneft Chairman of the Management Board Igor Sechin and Chief Executive Officer of Total Patrick Pouyanné.

Deepwater oil projects and complex gas facilities worth around $200 billion have been cancelled or put on hold worldwide in recent months due to the sharp drop in oil prices over the past year, consultancy Ernst and Young said.

BP could be close to a $700 million deal with Russia’s Rosneft for a 20% stake in a Siberian oilfield, the company led by Igor Sechin further showed how national companies can cope with sanctions, maintaining ties with Western companies and progressively switching to Asian markets.

"Uncertainty is the rule of the game in this industry," the head of France's Total Patrick Pouyanne said this month. "We are in the long-term business. This is why at Total we are keen to maintain our commitment to Russia."

Europe’s biggest oil groups are extending business deals with their Russian energy partners despite this month’s EU vote to continue imposing sanctions, highlighting how western companies are learning to live with the restrictions placed on Moscow.

According to Statistics Norway, total investments in oil and gas activity in 2016 should be NOK 184.9 billion, which is 1.4% higher than the corresponding estimate for 2015.

Iran needs $100 billion to rebuild its gas industry and has met with European energy giants as an end to decades of international sanctions looms, according to the state-run company in charge of discussions.

More than $100bn of investment has been deferred or scrapped in response to the near-50 per cent plunge in crude over the past year.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers on Tuesday said it expects Canadian crude output—mostly from Alberta’s oil sands—to reach 4.96 million barrels a day by 2025. That forecast is less than the previous estimate of 5.6 million barrels a day and the 6.0 million barrels a day it had forecast back in 2013.

The outlook in the Texas oil and gas sector remains negative as most companies expect low capital spending in 2016, the Dallas Federal Reserve said.

Examining the essential gas transmission infrastructure projects in Europe alone - without taking into account the upstream sector – according to the European Commission, investments of at least 70 billion EUR are required by 2020, while EU funding will provide €4.7 billion for both gas and electricity PCIs between 2014 and 2020, subject to final approval of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (in 2015).

Wintershall will continue investing in its core regions, with Russia remaining the most important area for the company.

The total volume of Egypt’s investments projected for the drilling and extracting natural gas has reached US$13 billion

Russia is developing non-dollar financing and ties with China in the face of U.S. and EU sanctions