Equinor ASA (OSE: EQNR, NYSE EQNR) has agreed with Lundin Petroleum AB to divest a 16 percent shareholding in Lundin Petroleum for a direct interest of 2.6 percent in the Johan Sverdrup field and a cash consideration of around USD 650 million.

China has lifted restrictions on foreign investment in its conventional oil and gas upstream and city gas distribution sectors, in an attempt to boost resource development, and setting the stage to break the monopoly of national oil companies.

TC Energy Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TC Energy) announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its U.S. midstream assets held by its subsidiary, Columbia Midstream Group, to UGI Energy Services, LLC, a subsidiary of UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI), for approximately US$1.275 billion (Cdn$1.7 billion). The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 subject to closing adjustments and customary regulatory approvals.

The worldwide rig count for June 2019 was 2,221, up 39 from the 2,182 counted in May 2019, and up 69 from the 2,152 counted in June 2018.

U.S. Rig Count is down 4 rigs from last week to 963, with oil rigs down 5 to 788, gas rigs up 1 to 174, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canada Rig Count is down 4 rigs from last week to 120, with oil rigs down 4 to 80 and gas rigs unchanged at 40.

Tariffs, imposed by the US under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as well as retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on US imports, have already harmed the US oil and gas industry, according to testimony Padilla recently gave to the US Trade Representative's Section 301 committee

Fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—have accounted for at least 80% of energy consumption in the United States for well over a century.

The re-opening of trade negotiations between the US and China also opens the door for the easing of trade tensions and potential removal of tariffs on a range of commodities including LNG, LPG, soybeans, metals and petrochemicals.

"As BRICS participants are leading global consumers and producers of energy, our association could be more actively involved in issues of ensuring global energy security and universal access to energy," Putin said, during a meeting of the leaders of the BRICS countries ahead of the G20 Summit in Osaka. The BRICS group comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

U.S. Rig Count is unchanged from from last week at 967, with oil rigs up 4 to 793, gas rigs down 4 to 173, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canada Rig Count is up 5 rigs from last week to 124, with oil rigs up 4 to 84 and gas rigs up 1 to 40.

The countries signed an $8.3 billion economic cooperation pact that included a $6 billion deal between Saudi Aramco and the Korean company S-Oil to build an oil refinery and downstream petrochemical facilities in South Korea.

Mexican state oil company Pemex [PEMX.UL] signed an $8 billion syndicated loan with more than 20 banks to renew credit lines and refinance liabilities, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday.

“Imposing tariffs on the remainder of U.S. imports from China will put undue strain on the supply chains of the natural gas and oil industry that enable the delivery of reliable and affordable energy to American families and businesses,” said Dr. Aaron Padilla, API’s Senior Advisor for International Policy.

The Scandinavian nation’s parliament voted on Wednesday to instruct its $1 trillion fund to pull an estimated more than $13 billion from oil, gas and coal extracting companies and move up to $20 billion into renewable-energy projects and companies, representing around 2% of the fund.

U.S. crude oil production reached a new all-time high of 12.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) in May 2019