China National Offshore Oil Corp. towed the rig, known as HYSY 981, into a disputed area of the South China Sea in May 2014, triggering an uproar in Vietnam. Anti-Chinese riots broke out in several parts of the country while Chinese and Vietnamese coast-guard and fishing vessels stood off against each other at sea.

The squeeze puts further pressure on the shale industry to sell assets, cut jobs and drilling and shrink capital spending. It also raises the risk that more companies will tip into bankruptcy.

The world's top crude oil exporter asked banks for a loan worth between $6 billion and $8 billion that would run for five years, sources told Reuters last month, as the kingdom seeks to plug a record budget deficit caused by low oil prices.

Crude output from Cepu more than tripled throughout 2015 from around 40,000 bpd in 2014, hitting around 130,000 bpd in December when Exxon commenced operation of the project's central processing facility.

Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc had their ratings reduced by one level, while Total SA’s was cut two steps, according to statements by the New York-based rating company on Friday. Chevron will generate negative cash flow amid rising debt for at least the next two years, while Shell will have elevated leverage following its acquisition of BG Group Plc, Moody’s said. Prices are expected to stay low through this year and next and continue to pressure Total’s operating cash flows and credit metrics, Moody’s said.

U.S. Rig Count is down 7 rigs from last week to 443, with oil rigs down 8 to 354, and gas rigs up 1 to 89. Canadian Rig Count is down 8 rigs from last week to 41, with oil rigs down 3 to 8, and gas rigs down 5 to 33.

Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude oil to India, where oil demand grew by 5.7% last year and is expected by the International Energy Agency to increase 6.3% this year.

Poorly conceived policies could restrict development of abundant domestic natural gas resources and deny the US energy security, economic, and geopolitical opportunities.

Total capital investment in the oil and natural gas sector is forecast to decline to $31 billion in 2016, down from a record $81 billion in 2014.

The transaction combines two complementary technology portfolios into a pore-to-pipeline products and services offering to the global oil and gas industry. The merger will create technology-driven growth by integrating Schlumberger reservoir and well technology with Cameron wellhead and surface equipment, flow control and processing technology. This will result in the industry’s first complete drilling and production systems, which are enabled by Schlumberger expertise in instrumentation, data processing, control software, and system integration.

Mexico's proven oil and gas reserves dropped 21.3 percent in 2015, the oil regulator said on Thursday, as the state-run oil company, Pemex, cut back on investment because of plunging crude prices.

Brazil’s troubled state-run oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA on Friday announced a beefed up voluntary layoff program that could affect up to 12,000 jobs amid intense efforts to cut costs.

Leading global drilling and engineering contractor, KCA Deutag, today announces that it has sold its jack-up drilling unit, the Ben Loyal to Egyptian headquartered Advanced Energy Systems A.D.E.S. SAE for an undisclosed sum.

In 2015, LUKOIL Group total hydrocarbon production increased by 2.8 % y-o-y and reached 2.379 million boe per day. Crude oil production* increased by 3.6 % y-o-y to 100.7 million tons.

The sale of Aramco, or Saudi Arabian Oil Co., is planned for 2018 or even a year earlier, according to the prince. The fund will then play a major role in the economy, investing at home and abroad. It would be big enough to buy Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. -- the world’s four largest publicly traded companies.