2015

China National Petroleum Corp and Sinopec, China’s top two state-owned oil companies, have denied they are considering merging to form a giant monopoly after rumours prompted both companies’ Hong Kong-listed shares to jump on Monday.

U.S. Rig Count is down 22 rigs from last week to 932, with oil rigs down 31 to 703, gas rigs up 8 to 225, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 4.

OAO Gazprom says antitrust allegations by the European Commission regarding territorial restrictions and an unfair pricing policy are “unsubstantiated.”

If there was one thing guaranteed to follow low oil prices (other than the loss of thousands of jobs) it was mergers and acquisitions. This has certainly rung true as companies consolidate their portfolios or use their war chests to snap up competitors while prices are down. The recent deal between Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group has many expecting a renewed wave of major business decisions. The buzz has fueled rumors that BP Plc will be susceptible to a takeover by fellow oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.

Total said it may take advantage of the slump in crude to make acquisitions that build on the strengths of Europe’s third-biggest oil company in deepwater offshore fields and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The European Commission gave Gazprom 12 weeks to answer its Statement of Objections (SO) for alleged abuse of dominant market position in Central and Eastern European gas markets. The widely-anticipated decision triggered the enthusiasm of Ukrainian officials, raised some doubts among Russian experts and encountered strong opposition from Gazprom.

In the latest report on Croatia, the European Commission has warned that Croatian Law on the gas market does not encourage competition, and that such a situation could jeopardize further integration into the European energy market, as well as projects such as the LNG terminal on the island of Krk.

Heavily dependent on Russia for its energy needs, European trade negotiators are looking for a visible anchor to US energy supplies, writes Douglas Hengel of The German Marshall Fund of the United States.

The sixth meeting of the World Forum on Energy Regulation is scheduled to be held on May 25–28, in Istanbul, and is being organized by the office of the prime minister of the Turkish Republic. The competitive and dynamically expanding nature of the energy sector in Eurasia has been boosting Turkey’s regional importance as it prepares to take on the role of a strategically important transit and energy hub country

Iran’s natural gas production has reached 660 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) and the country is expected to increase this volume to 760 mcm/d by next spring.