This arguably should have benefited the U.S. economy because lower gasoline prices aid consumers by lowering their fixed expenses. But the pain of investment losses largely outweighed the positive effects as investors from Main Street to pensions and foundations lent piles of money to speculative energy companies that looked increasingly fragile.

We expect to see robust demand for oil and gas for decades to come, in a global energy system in a long-term transition to lower carbon fuels. As well as low oil prices today, we are seeing higher levels of price volatility, due to geopolitical change, the speed of information flows, and the pace of innovation in our sector.

The worldwide rig count for May 2016 was 1,405, down 19 from the 1,424 counted in April 2016, and down 722 from the 2,127 counted in May 2015.

U.S. Rig Count is up 4 rigs from last week to 408, with oil rigs up 9 at 325, gas rigs down 5 to 82, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last week to 41, with oil rigs down 1 to 13, gas rigs unchanged at 28, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 at 0.

“We will be very gentle in our approach, so we don’t shock the market in any way,” Saudi Arabia’s new oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said before he sat down with his counterparts in Vienna on Thursday. “We are satisfied with the price movement over the last few months and think it will continue to gently edge up without much intervention, assuming that more or less OPEC production stays where it is.”

“We will be very gentle in our approach, so we don’t shock the market in any way,” Saudi Arabia’s new oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said before he sat down with his counterparts in Vienna on Thursday. “We are satisfied with the price movement over the last few months and think it will continue to gently edge up without much intervention, assuming that more or less OPEC production stays where it is.”

US crude oil production in March averaged 9.127 million b/d, down from 9.133 million b/d in February and 9.648 million b/d in March 2015.

Себестоимость добычи «Газпрома» остается самой низкой в мире: порядка $20 за 1000 куб. м, несмотря на то что компания вводит новые труднодоступные месторождения, рассказал зампред правления «Газпрома» Александр Медведев.

The parties discussed relevant cooperation issues, placing an emphasis on planned gas supplies to China via the eastern and western routes, as well as the prospects of collaboration in the field of underground gas storage, gas-fired power generation, and natural gas vehicles.

Russia’s crude production continuing to grow this year by around 100,000 b/d or even slightly above this figure. The growth is supported by investments made in previous years.

U.S. Rig Count is unchanged from last week at 404, with oil rigs down 2 to 316, gas rigs up 2 to 87, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is down 1 rig from last week to 43, with oil rigs down 2 to 14, gas rigs up 1 to 28, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

"Currently, Iran's crude oil exports, excluding gas condensates, have reached 2 million barrels per day (bpd)," Javadi said. "Iran's crude oil export capacity will reach 2.2 million barrels by the middle of summer."

Министр энергетики отметил, что страны АСЕАН являются одними из наиболее быстро растущих в мире по темпам роста объемов потребления энергии. «Сегодня в этом регионе потребляется вдвое меньше энергии, чем в среднем по миру, при этом с 1990 г. энергопотребление выросло в 2,5 раза», - отметил Александр Новак. По его словам, эта тенденция открывает для России «окно возможностей», связанных с поставками энергоресурсов, технологий и оборудования.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said last month that global upstream investment fell by 24 percent in 2015 and is set to fall by 18 percent in 2016.

Leviathan, one of the largest offshore discoveries of the past decade, was found in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010 and has been mostly earmarked for exports.