U.S. Rig Count is down 367 rigs from last year's count of 864, with oil rigs down 255, gas rigs down 114, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is down 50 rigs from last year's count of 187, with oil rigs down 1, and gas rigs down 49.

“From the viewpoint of economic sense and logic, then it would be correct to find some sort of compromise,” Putin said in an interview in Vladivostok. “I am confident that everyone understands that. We believe that this is the right decision for world energy.”

The agreements were signed at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, the president of BP Russia David Campbell and Schlumberger’s regional president Gokhan Saygi.

The country is able to pump as much as 12.5 million barrels a day of oil, he said in comments broadcast during an official visit to buyers in Asia, its biggest market, including China.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Jawad Kadhim Al Abadi and his Kurdish counterpart, Nechirvan Barzani, have agreed to split the proposed export volume of 150,000 bopd from Kirkuk’s Baba Gorgor and Khabbaz fields between them. On Tuesday, Kurdish news outlet Rudaw also claimed an agreement on Kirkuk oil had been reached.

“Combining CNPC’s operational expertise with BP’s technology and experience, we now expect to leverage the synergies between these blocks. This new PSC clearly demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in projects in China which will deliver long-term value to BP, to our Chinese partners and, most importantly, to the country.”

In recent years, given the huge potential in Indonesia LNG market, JSK has ventured into the LNG supply chain. Recently, it was awarded the LNG re-gasification and storage contracts to support a gas-fired power plant in Bali, Indonesia. Following the successful completion of the deal, Coastal Contracts would have joint control over JSK Gas’s operating subsidiaries and assets. JSK Gas, through its 99% owned subsidiary Benoa Gas Terminal (BGT), would be engaged in the operations and transfer of a floating LNG regasification unit over a five-year contract period.

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.

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.

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.

"We have held conversations on strengthening our position in oil markets," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said through an interpreter after a meeting with Ecuador's President Rafael Correa. Zarif added that the two countries have agreed to continue talks within the framework of OPEC, without providing further details. Ecuador Foreign Minister Guillaume Long said they discussed establishing a common position with regards to strengthening oil prices.

Iraq, which depends on oil sales for 95 percent of its public spending, appears set to continue boosting production, which currently stands at around 4.6 million barrels per day.

Iran sent a letter to members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries saying it would attend the group’s informal talks in Algeria in September, OPEC delegates told The Wall Street Journal. An Iranian oil-ministry press official couldn’t confirm the letter had been sent late Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia has traditionally accounted for most of the crude imports by Asia, the world's biggest oil-consuming region. But recently OPEC's top producer has lost ground in a number of major markets including Russia and China, and faces a further threat from Iran, which is ramping up exports after the removal of Western sanctions.