PetroChina Co Ltd on Wednesday said profit fell 70 percent last year as low prices brought down upstream earnings, eclipsing the impact of a jump in natural gas income brought about in part by pipeline consolidation.

In 2015, the total overdue debt increased by 19.8 per cent, from RUB 127 billion to RUB 152.1 billion; the gas payment rate decreased by 1.4 per cent to 96.2 per cent. The debt is held mainly by the population, heating companies, and electric power enterprises. Over 80 per cent of the debt is borne by the consumers of the North Caucasian Federal District (RUB 48.6 billion or 81.4 per cent of the total consumer debt in Russia as of January 1, 2016).

Revenue during the year fell by 20.9% to $1,668.8 million (2014: $2,110.9 million) reflecting activity reductions as spending by our customers has reduced, pricing pressures, reduced spend on reimbursable type contracts and changes in mix between our business units. EBITDA decreased by 7.9% to $289.8 million over the same period as the impact of these lower revenues was offset by significant reductions made to our cost base.

U.S. Rig Count is down 12 rigs from last week to 464, with oil rigs down 15 to 372, and gas rigs up 3 to 92. Canadian Rig Count is down 14 rigs from last week to 55, with oil rigs down 1 to 11, and gas rigs down 13 to 44.

THE GUARDIAN - The Rockefeller Family Fund, a charity set up in 1967 by descendants of John D Rockefeller, said on Wednesday that it would divest from all fossil fuel holdings “as quickly as possible”.

“The US has sought to work with Europe to lessen Europe's dependence on Russian energy and, particularly, gas supplies to weaken Russian leverage to use that gas supply for political purposes and has enjoyed some success, and this has been a cooperative venture. Three administrations working in the same direction, many of the same assumptions and people.”

Goods exports decreased to $1,513.5 billion from $1,632.6 billion, the first decrease since 2009. The largest decrease—which accounted for more than two-thirds of the total decrease in goods exports—was in industrial supplies and materials. The decrease was mainly due to a decrease in petroleum and products.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States gained nearly 25 cents in the past four weeks, according to a survey released on Sunday.

The total US rig count, which on Friday stood at 476, is now at its lowest point ever in the 67-year history of the Baker Hughes numbers, according to data released by the oilfield service company.

The deal will give Calgary-based TransCanada a strategic position in the Marcellus and Utica shales of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, the most promising regions in the US for gas production growth.

This supply growth, with ebbs and flows, is likely to continue. The Russian medium- to long-term optimism is that gas will be a growth fuel – a clean, adaptable C02-light fuel that could replace coal across the world into the 2020s.

The first export is a significant milestone for the Gorgon project, which has been hit by delays and a jump in costs since construction started, as it begins generating revenue for Chevron and its partners.

In November 2011, Iraq signed a $17 billion deal to form a joint venture to gather, process and market gas from three oil fields in the oil-rich province of Basra. The fields are the 17.8 billion-barrel Rumaila, the 4.1 billion barrel Zubair field and the 8.6 billion barrel West Qurna Stage 1.

China's total oil imports rose about 20 percent on year to the highest ever on a daily basis in February, when near 10-year low global oil prices drove buying from a group of new importers and for state and commercial stockpiling.

The project includes the ongoing construction of a new ethylene cracker and ethylene derivatives units, which will increase ethylene capacity by more than 1 million tonnes of per year, about double the current capacity. It will also include a styrene monomer and propylene oxide (SMPO) plant, which will be the largest such plant ever built in China.