U.S. Rig Count is down 3 rigs from last week to 421, with oil rigs down 7 to 330, gas rigs up 4 to 90, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 7 rigs from last week to 76, with oil rigs up 8 to 36, gas rigs down 1 to 39, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

"Such huge outflows raise a question as to whether upstream business will generate enough cash, and where capex will figure in the priority order of companies," said Andrew Slaughter, executive director, Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. "When we annualized operating cash flows of all the three company sets in 2015 for the next five years, assuming a $55/bbl average oil price, we see a total funding gap of up to $2 trillion from operations."

Global upstream development spending from 2015 to 2020 has declined 22%, or $740 billion, since fourth-quarter 2014. Including cuts to conventional exploration investment, the figure increases to just more than $1 trillion.

It is absolutely compatible with the Energy Union. It will be sustainable, affordable and help security of supply, he said. It will increase liquidity in Europe but nobody will be forced to buy the gas, which will be priced against hubs.

Azerbaijan is hoping in the best case for profits in excess of $50bn from the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC). State oil company Socar told that even the gloomiest outlook showed that Azerbaijan’s share in the profit of SGC would be at least $30bn over the 25 years' duration of the sales and purchase agreements.

Since January, nearly $2 billion has been raised by Canadian non-oilsands producers on equity markets, but most of it has been geared to paying down debt or funding acquisitions, not for drilling new wells

Russia’s oil industry is “very resilient,” BP Plc CEO Bob Dudley said in St. Petersburg on Thursday. The nation’s resources are competitively priced and floating the currency has been helpful for costs, he said while announcing a new exploration joint-venture with Rosneft.

U.S. Rig Count is up 10 rigs from last week to 424, with oil rigs up 9 to 337, gas rigs up 1 to 86, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 4 rigs from last week to 69, with oil rigs down 1 to 28, gas rigs up 4 to 40, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1.

The oil and gas industry will cut $1 trillion from planned spending on exploration and development because of the slump in prices, leading to slower growth in production.

We need tax policies that encourage investment in America’s abundant energy resources. It is because of our industry’s investments that the U.S. is the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world while leading other countries in lowering carbon and other emissions. The industry also invests billions in low- and zero-emissions technologies to continue to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. This model has proven that we can protect the environment, grow our economy, and save consumers on average $1300 in energy costs per year.

“I want to create a world class investment case for Shell and our shareholders.”

The Kashagan oilfield development project has been marred by delays and cost overruns. It first began producing in September 2013 but was halted two weeks later due to gas leaks.

U.S. oil production down 118 tbd, natural gas production down 476 mcfd.

Last year, Norway’s derived half of its oil and gas revenue from production taxes, 43% from the government’s direct ownership in oil and gas assets, and 7% from dividends paid by Statoil ASA, in which the government has a 67% stake.

The two companies signed the contracts after very difficult negotiations on Saturday evening. Managing Director of Sadaf Petrochemical Assaluyeh Company Ahmad Jazayeri said the Swiss company will help his company to build a plant for production of the synthetic polymer ESBR, a strategic product used in the petrochemical industry and rubber manufacturing.