In an expansion of their ongoing global partnership, BP and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) entered into a framework agreement on strategic cooperation covering potential shale gas exploration and production in the Sichuan Basin and future fuel retailing ventures in China and other international partnerships.

Third Quarter 2015 Highlights: - Net debt decreased by $28 million and positive free cash flow from operations was $123 million; - Operating income increased 3% and by 47 basis points sequentially, driven mostly by improvements in North America where revenue increased by 2% and operating margins increased 493 basis points with the modest recovery from spring break up in Canada and continued cost reduction measures; - Best-in-class sequential incrementals of 2% and year-on-year decrementals of 29%; - Completed the previous reduction in force target of 11,000 employees by September 30, 2015, with realized annualized savings of $803 million; and - Repurchased $236 million of long-term debt through open market transactions generating a gain of $35 million.

Revenue for the quarter was $3.8 billion, down 39% compared to the third quarter of 2014. Compared to the prior quarter, revenue declined $182 million or 5%. On a GAAP basis, net loss attributable to Baker Hughes for the third quarter was $159 million or $0.36 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) for the third quarter of 2015 was $522 million, an increase of $63 million or 14% sequentially, and a decrease of $666 million or 56% compared to the third quarter of 2014.

The plan appears to be working. Oil remains 33 percent lower than when OPEC revealed its strategy on Nov. 27, trading for $48.38 a barrel at 10:13 a.m. in London Wednesday. U.S. crude production has retreated about 500,000 barrels a day from the three-decade peak reached in June to 9.1 million a day in the week to Oct. 9, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.

Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan all have safety cushions of income from oil and gas to help in the hard times of benchmark Brent crude under $50 a barrel.

Russia supplied a record amount of crude oil to China in September, surpassing Saudi Arabia for the second time as the top seller to the Asian giant, customs data showed, boosted by demand from independent refiners.

Gazprom goes on developing LNG sales from its portfolio. Over the first 6 months of 2015 it sold 22 LNG cargoes with the total volume exceeding 1.5 million tons, thus showing a 17 per cent increase as compared to the same period of the previous year. This is equivalent to the total LNG sales in 2013.

The API Director of Upstream Erik Milito released the following statement regarding the Obama administration’s decision to deny Arctic offshore development extension requests and scheduled 2016 and 2017 Arctic lease sales

Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports fell by 278,000 barrels per day in August, despite historically high wellhead production, while volumes of shipped refined oil products rose to a record high, official data showed on Sunday.

Pakistan and Russia signed a major agreement to build a 1,100-km gas pipeline from Lahore to Karachi, that will take cooperation between the two Cold War-era adversaries “to a new level”.

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.

Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, believes the crude price will struggle to trade above $60 a barrel next year, as the effects of slowing global demand growth could be compounded by a return of Iranian and maybe even Libyan barrels.

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) announced today that income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2015 was $265 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, excluding special items. This compares to income from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2015 of $380 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, excluding special items. Adjusted operating income was $506 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared to adjusted operating income of $643 million in the second quarter of 2015. Halliburton's total revenue in the third quarter of 2015 was $5.6 billion, compared to $5.9 billion in the second quarter of 2015.

"The fourth-quarter oil demand will be mainly boosted by heating oil demand in Asia. And in 2016, North America and Asia will continue to drive the global oil demand growth," the country's third-largest refiner said in an earnings statement.

Two of the biggest independent oil explorers in the North Sea have predicted a further 10,000 jobs will be lost from the sector, indicating a growing acceptance that oil prices are stuck in a prolonged slump.