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.

"Growth is expected to rebound in 2016, supported by exchange rate depreciation and accommodative monetary and fiscal policies, but uncertainty about oil prices, challenges in sustaining the global recovery, and elevated domestic vulnerabilities suggest risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside," the IMF said.

U.S. Rig Count is up 4 rigs from last week to 414, with oil rigs up 3 at 328, gas rigs up 3 to 85, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 24 rigs from last week to 65, with oil rigs up 16 to 29, gas rigs up 8 to 36.

ONGC Videsh Ltd. signed a $1.16 billion nine-month bridge loan on May 19 to fund the purchase of a 15 percent stake in Vankor field in Siberia from Russia’s Rosneft OAO, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Indian Oil Corp. plans a $1.2 billion fundraising for Russian investments in three or four months, including short- and long-term loans, Finance Director A.K. Sharma said in an interview on Wednesday. The average margin over benchmark rates on non-rupee loans for Indian refiners and explorers was 74 basis points this year, the lowest since 2006, the data show.

Oil companies BP (BP.L) and Det norske (DETNOR.OL) have agreed to merge their Norwegian businesses in a $1.3 billion all-share deal to cut costs, challenge Statoil's (STL.OL) dominance of the local industry and look for more acquisitions.

The Indonesian government has proposed to the parliament revising down the country's 2016 crude oil production target by 2.4% to 810,000 b/d, from the initial target of 830,000 b/d, as some producers had reduced their output levels due to lower global prices,

In Q1 2016 net income was at RUB 14 bln. Decline of net income compared to RUB 53 bln in Q4 2015 resulted from EBITDA decrease and from recognition of one-offs from insurance compensation and sales of investments in the total amount of RUB 38 bln in other income at the end of 2015.