2016

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $49.38 per barrel at 0505 GMT, up 12 cents from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 17 cents at $47.15 a barrel.

With oil prices down by more than half since the price collapse two years ago, drillers have cut their exploration budgets to the bone. The result: Just 2.7 billion barrels of new supply was discovered in 2015, the smallest amount since 1947. This year, drillers found just 736 million barrels of conventional crude as of the end of last month.

The decline is a result of a combination of simpler development concepts and more efficient drilling. Lower prices for work and equipment are also a contributing factor.

“The Alaska LNG project is one of the least competitive on a cost of supply basis compared with other”

Profit attributable to the owners of PJSC Gazprom for the six months ended June 30, 2016 totaled RUB 607,160 million which is RUB 68,744 million, or 10% less than for the same period of the prior year.

Russia's No.2 oil producer Lukoil (LKOH.MM) second-quarter net profit dipped 2 percent, as a weaker rouble helped offset a 30 percent fall in crude prices that has gouged the earnings of many of its peers.

“America’s growth in natural gas production means that through LNG exports we can give our allies stability and security in the global natural gas market. America’s shale revolution is growing our economy, spurring environmental improvements and strengthening our own energy security. U.S. LNG will give our allies an opportunity to achieve those some goals.”

U.S. Rig Count is down 388 rigs from last year's count of 877, with oil rigs down 269, gas rigs down 121, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is down 50 rigs from last year's count of 196, with oil rigs down 4, and gas rigs down 46.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled up 56 cents, or 1.2%, to $47.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its ninth winning session in the past 11. Brent, the global benchmark, gained 62 cents, or 1.3%, to $49.67 a barrel.

The sector, which accounts for 20 percent of the Nordic country's economy, has been slashing jobs, costs and projects to cope with a 60 percent fall in oil prices since June 2014.