Light, sweet crude oil prices on the New York market gained modestly to settle above $34/bbl on Mar. 1, and Russia state news agency TASS reported Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said a “critical mass” of oil-producing countries had agreed to freeze oil production.

Citing his support for development of a competitive natural gas market in Europe, Norway's minister of petroleum and energy, Tord Lien, said a well functioning market in Europe is crucial for the maximisation of Norwegian assets. “Gas is there if Europe needs it.”

Despite lower crude oil prices, EIA expects Canadian oil production to continue increasing through 2017. Canadian oil sands projects that were already under construction when prices began to fall in 2014 and that are expected to begin production in the next two years are the main driver of production growth.

U.S. Rig Count is down 12 rigs from last week to 502, with oil rigs down 13 to 400, and gas rigs up 1 to 102. Canadian Rig Count is down 31 rigs from last week to 175, with oil rigs down 26 to 83, and gas rigs down 5 to 92.

Halliburton Co., which provides well-drilling services for oil companies, is cutting 5,000 more jobs as the industry continues to struggle with slumping oil prices.

Россия является надежным поставщиком энергоресурсов для Евросоюза и наши отношения являются взаимовыгодными.

“We’ve worked out a common position,” Novak said, commenting on the deal. “We discussed various options, including doing nothing and cutting production.” An oil price at $50 a barrel is acceptable for exporters and consumers over the long term, he said. Brent crude, a global benchmark, traded at about $33 on Friday after dropping 45 percent over the past year.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar conditionally agreed to cap their output at last month’s levels in order to halt a slide that has pushed oil prices to their lowest point in more than a decade. Oil prices recently plummeted below $30 a barrel, the lowest in 13 years.

Rosneft's hydrocarbon reserve replacement ratio under the SEC classification amounted to 124%. Following 2015 Rosneft's hydrocarbon reserve life under the SEC classification totaled 19 years.

U.S. Rig Count is down 27 rigs from last week to 514, with oil rigs down 26 to 413, and gas rigs down 1 to 101. Canadian Rig Count is down 16 rigs from last week to 206, with oil rigs down 9 to 109, and gas rigs down 7 to 97.

Feb. 3, 2016-- National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV) today reported fourth quarter 2015 net income of $85 million, or $0.23 per fully diluted share, excluding other items, down from $0.61 in the third quarter of 2015 on a comparable basis. Other items included pre-tax charges of $1,634 million for goodwill and other intangible asset write-downs, $139 million for restructuring and other charges (which included inventory write-downs, severance and facility closure costs, and other costs), and $7 million in FX losses due to a currency devaluation in Argentina. GAAP net loss for the quarter was $1,523 million, or $4.06 per fully diluted share.

Medvedev also downplayed an expected influx of liquefied natural gas to Europe from the United States, saying Gazprom's gas would be cheaper.

U.S. Rig Count is down 18 rigs from last week to 619, with oil rigs down 12 to 498, and gas rigs down 6 to 121.

Baker Hughes Fourth Quarter and Annual Results: - Revenue of $3.4 billion for the quarter and $15.7 billion for the year - Sequential and year-over-year decremental operating margins for the quarter were 33% and 32%, respectively - GAAP net loss per share of $2.35 for the quarter, includes $2.14 per share of impairment and restructuring charges and merger-related costs - Free cash flow up 25% sequentially to $436 million for the quarter, and $1.2 billion for the year

The Chuandongbei Project covers over 800 square kilometers in Sichuan Province and the Chongqing Municipality. Unocal East China Sea, Ltd. holds a 49 percent participating interest as the operator andChina National Petroleum Corporation holds a 51 participating percent interest.