U.S. shale well productivity rates should keep ticking up in May although total production will fall by 57,000 barrels per day, according to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services provider, will eliminate an additional 11,000 positions in a sign the industry will undergo another round of job cuts as a result of tumbling crude prices.

According to annual reports for 75 global oil and natural gas companies, oil proved reserve additions totaled 10.4 billion barrels in 2014, the lowest since 2010.

North Dakota’s oil production declined in February for the second consecutive month as drilling new wells slackened amid low oil prices. State regulators said Tuesday that February’s output was just short of 1.18 million barrels per day, down 50,435 daily barrels since December, which was the state’s all-time high. It was the first consecutive two-month drop since January 2011.

On December 1 2014, during his official visit to Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of South Stream, blaming the EU for its “unconstructive” position. In fact, the realization of pipeline had become untenable as a result of various legal, political and financial issues, such as the EU’s Third Energy Package, the Ukraine crisis and the ensuing sanctions over companies involved in South Stream (Stroytransgaz and Gazprombank).

Russia will continue to provide competitive natural gas deliveries to Europe until mid-2020 and there is a limited possibility that other sources including LNG supplies, will offset Russian imports significantly, participants at the Flame conference in Amsterdam said Tuesday.

Russia has been holding active, "unprecedented" consultations with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a senior official said on Wednesday, a clear signal of Moscow's strive for higher oil prices.

Russia is pushing ahead with plans to build a pipeline to Turkey and further on to Greecevia the Black Sea, in line with its plans to stop exporting gas via Ukraine by 2019.

Lukoil will likely pull out from Saudi Arabia where the economics of its search for gas have been crushed by the collapse of the oil price, three industry sources said.

Nigeria’s incoming government should consider selling down its majority stakes in joint ventures with multinational oil companies to shore up state finances and raise funding for infrastructure development, according to the central bank governor.

The rebalancing of the global oil market may still be in its early stage with the outlook “only getting murkier”, according to the International Energy Agency, as uncertainties remain about demand and supply responses to the steep drop in prices.

Rapid and aggressive strategic response by oil and gas companies to low oil prices has driven industry cash flow breakevens down by $20/bbl to $72/bbl, according to a recent analysis of Wood Mackenzie. If oil prices remain at current levels, further cuts would be required to achieve cash flow neutrality, WoodMac said. For some companies, this will mean selling assets, others may suspend or limit dividend and buyback programs.

Oil production from the fastest-growing U.S. shale plays is set to fall some 45,000 barrels per day to 4.98 million bpd in May from April, the first monthly decline in over four years, projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.

OPEC's strategy of holding output steady is not working and the group's members should discuss production levels before its next meeting in June, Iran's oil minister said, a sign of the pain lower prices are causing OPEC's less wealthy producers.

Advances in technology, standards and practices in the last five years have made America’s offshore #oil and natural #gas industry safer than ever, #API President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters on a press conference call today.