"This is no new idea. A Russian-Iranian bank existed in Soviet time though it was later liquidated. All details will be discussed after a principal decision is made. For now we’ve agreed that Iran’s delegation will visit Moscow particularly for discussing all details and issues related to its location, conditions of work, and equity capital. Separate talks will be held in the nearest future when a delegation comes to Moscow," the Minister said.

Italy’s Eni executed a sale and purchase agreement to sell a 12% stake in Saipem to Fondo Strategico Italiano, as part of a plan designed to collect €6.5 billion.

A Chinese holding company signed a letter of intent to purchase oil and gas assets in the Permian basin of West Texas for $1.3 billion through a limited liability partnership.

In our view, Rosneft alone can offer European partners to participate in the projects for the amount of about $100 bln., the Head of Rosneft said. «The scale of Rosneft investment program assumes one of the world's largest anchor orders for engineering industry and chemical industry products, in the first place – about 4.6 bln. euro annually, pointed out Igor Sechin. – Аnd Rosneft aggregate demand for materials in 2016-2018 will amount to € 15.9 bln.».

The foreign investment arm of India's top oil explorer ONGC is targeting $10-$12 billion of oil and gas asset purchases over the next three years, including more corporate acquisitions, its managing director said.

Norwegian petroleum and other liquids production, which had been declining since 2001, increased in 2014 and will likely continue increasing in 2015. The production growth in 2014 was mainly the result of new fields coming online, but also included a small increase in output from existing fields. Production has continued to grow in the first half of 2015 and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next few years as growth from new fields balances declines from older fields.

Britain has told Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman he was still welcome to invest in the country even after he was forced to divest gas assets there under pressure from the previous government.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) reported further cuts to its capital budget, reducing planned spending for 2015 by $3 billion to $25 billion and by $8 billion to $19 billion for 2016. The company cited low crude oil prices and unfavorable exchange rates.

China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund said it would finance part of the project, a development Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné called “a clear commitment by China” in an interview Wednesday. The price paid for Silk Road’s 9.9% stake in Yamal wasn’t disclosed.

India is ready to invest more than $15.2 billion to build projects in Iran including taking up full-scale development of Chabahar Port if Tehran offers better terms including cheaper gas, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

Plunging oil prices have rendered more than a trillion dollars of future spending on energy projects uneconomic, according to a study that suggests that the impact on industry operators is worsening.

OAO Rosneft will sell a stake in one of its largest oil-producing projects to ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas-investment arm of India’s biggest explorer, for $1.27 billion, people familiar with the plan said.

Some of the largest U.S. shale oil producers have already begun slashing 2016 budgets, with some planning double-digit reductions starting next January, the latest sign low crude prices are forcing a radical adjustment in the industry.

Due to actual investments in production the volumes are still being added to the market, but the current cuts are starting to have an affect. In the next years the ongoing programs of investment shrinking - primarily from the transnational corporations - will certainly have their effect. As for now, the implementation of their long-term investment programs that started even before the current crisis has expressed in some production growth. But in 2014, the oil majors claimed to reduce the investment in production; in 2015, additional reductions by 10-20% and more were announced by such majors as BP, Shell, Chevron, Total. Overall cutback in global upstream investment was about $140 bln, and it is expected to reach $200-250 bln by 2016 year-end. Within 2-3 years, this will inevitably influence on the production and will have a long-term negative effect.

Amidst the gloomy days of August when Brent Crude bottomed out at $42/bbl, the acquisition of Cameron by Schlumberger ($14.8 billion) took place as one of the largest mergers in the oil patch, following the tie-up of Halliburton and Baker Hughes ($32 billion) in November 2014. This consolidation has resulted in an integrated service & equipment provider covering the full oil & gas lifecycle from reservoir to first flow.