Norway traditionally vies with Russia to be the EU’s top gas supplier, providing about 30 per cent of import demand. In terms of energy security, EU officials hail Norway as a model of stability compared with the political and commercial risks associated with Russia and Algeria.

The mistaken prognoses highlight the challenges OPEC faces on Friday when the group’s ministers gather in Vienna for a potentially contentious meeting.

Libya, an Opec member, is producing a fraction of the 1.6m barrels a day it pumped before the downfall of Muammer Gaddafi four years ago. Its oil industry and infrastructure has been shattered by years of conflict that has divided the country.

“The latest leg down in activity has led us to again evaluate our staffing levels against expected activity. Following which, we will further right-size the organization based on the activity outlook for 2016,” said Patrick Schorn, Schlumberger’s president of operations, at a speech on Tuesday in New York.

Saudi Arabia, which has so far resisted any market intervention to prop up oil prices, will propose the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut output by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, Energy Intelligence reported.

U.S. oil production decreased on 259,000 barrels per day

"I will defend the position for the construction of Nord Stream II and (a) gas hub in Bulgaria - it is advantageous for the country and nobody can reproach me for that," Borisov told reporters.

LUKOIL EBITDA REACHED $10.5 BILLION IN THE NINE MONTHS OF 2015, LIQUID HYDROCARBONS PRODUCTION INCREASED BY 3.9%. FREE CASH FLOW REACHED $2.0 BILLION

In its Energy Demand Forecast, the institute said the country's jet fuel demand is expected to increase 5.5% on year to 36.2 million barrels next year, compared with 34.4 million barrels estimated for this year.

The joint venture between Rosneft and BP based on Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha LLC will continue further development of the Srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field which is one of the largest fields in the Eastern Siberia. The JV will also undertake the development of suitable infrastructure for further exploration and development of the region’s reserves.

"Indonesia is an important country for Saudi Arabia, a rising global economy, we would like to be a part of the growth of Indonesia," Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H Al-Nasser said at the signing of the initial agreement to upgrade the Cilacap refinery in Indonesia's Central Java province.

"We highly value our interaction within consultations on the situation in the oil market between OPEC and leading non-OPEC producers," Novak said.

Britain's oil and gas sector has lost over 5,000 jobs since late 2014 as a slump in oil prices has severely squeezed oil companies' budgets and led to project cancellations.

Nowadays the proven shale gas reserves across the globe were estimated at about five trillion cubic meters, which was less than three per cent of the world's aggregate proven gas reserves.

The government hopes international companies will commit at least $100 billion that Iran says it needs to boost oil-production capacity by more than 1 million barrels a day.