The Barents Sea is characterized by low exploration maturity with a high resource potential. Operators have discovered 3.3 billion boe in the Barents Sea since exploration began, and the region has an estimated undiscovered potential of 7.6 billion boe. About 5 billion boe is expected to gas and condensate.

Crude oil production fell 7.8 percent from April 2015 to average 8.9 million barrels per day in April, the lowest output level in 20 months. Natural gas liquids (NGL) production, a co-product of natural gas production, rose from prior year. NGL production in April averaged 3.3 million barrels per day, 0.7 percent higher than last year. This was the highest April output level on record.

U.S. Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last week to 404, with oil rigs unchanged at 318, gas rigs down 2 to 85, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 1 rig from last week to 44, with oil rigs unchanged at 16, gas rigs up 1 to 27, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

Crude oil production in June from the seven major US shale regions is expected to fall 113,000 b/d month-over-month to 4.85 million b/d. Gas production from the regions is forecast to fall 464 MMcfd.

Oil and gas producers depend largely on bank credit lines to run their businesses. Cmpanies getting ready to restructure are working closely with their bankers before filing for bankruptcy.

As the number of failed operators mounts, the surviving companies are laying the groundwork for what they forecast will be an era of slower but steadier growth in the state at the epicenter of the U.S.’s energy boom.

The transaction is expected to deliver annual pretax savings of at least $400 million as of 2019 and boost earnings per share significantly, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is Russia’s business climate. While frequently fodder for criticism, there’s progress. Russia has surged by 61 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index since 2013 to 51st this year.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, plans “significant growth” in output in 2016 and further international expansion, the head of the country’s state-run producer said, even as global oversupply contributed to a drop in crude prices from a year ago.

Libya's production was down to 212,000 barrels on Monday, after the largest National Oil Corp (NOC) subsidiary, AGOCO, was forced to slash output by one-third from southeastern fields, an NOC spokesman in Tripoli said.

The pullout comes as crude oil prices have plummeted to less than half their June 2014 levels, forcing oil companies to slash spending. For Shell and ConocoPhillips, the decision to abandon Arctic acreage was formalized just before a May 1 due date to pay the U.S. government millions of dollars in rent to keep holdings in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska.

China’s falling oil output and sliding U.S. production may help rebalance a market struggling to recover from the worst price crash in a generation

Revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $1.59 billion compared with $2.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $2.79 billion in the first quarter of 2015. First quarter revenues declined 21% sequentially and 43% from the prior year. The sequential decline was 22% in North America and 21% for International operations. Product sales declined 30% sequentially, while service and rental revenue decreased by 16%. The product sales decline was as much seasonal as cyclical and most impacted the Eastern Hemisphere.

Halliburton’s chief executive has blamed an increasingly difficult US regulatory climate for the collapse of his company’s $28bn bid for rival Baker Hughes, which was abandoned on Sunday.

HOUSTON – May 3, 2016 - Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) announced that income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2016 was $64 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, excluding special items. This compares to income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2015 of $270 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, excluding special items. Adjusted operating income was $225 million in the first quarter of 2016, compared to adjusted operating income of $473 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Halliburton's total revenue in the first quarter of 2016 was $4.2 billion, compared to $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015.