Iran overtook political rival Saudi Arabia as India's top oil supplier in October, shipping data showed, just ahead of a producers' meeting this month to hammer out the details on output cuts aimed at reining in a global glut.

Pakistan's gasoline consumption rose 17.5% year on year to 4.385 million mt in fiscal 2015-16, while high speed diesel consumption rose 2.6% to 6.223 million mt and furnace oil sales fell 250,000 mt to 8 million mt.

LUKOIL has raised USD 500 million in a 5-year unsecured loan at 3 month LIBOR+3.0% to finance the development of the Gissar group’s gas condensate fields in Uzbekistan. Soyuzneftegaz Vostok Limited, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of PJSC “LUKOIL”, is the borrower under the loan.

Iran wants $200bn of investment in its energy industry over the next five years in order to raise production. Until now the country has been struggling to persuade overseas energy companies to commit amid wrangling over the contract terms offered by Tehran.

Pakistan announced a three year road map to improve its global ranking on doing business earlier this year. Consistent with that, the country completed three reforms in the past year in Registering Property, Getting Credit and Trading Across Borders. The highest number in a single year over the past decade.

The worsening OPEC equation presents Saudi Arabia with a difficult choice after its Algiers U-turn: carry a greater burden within the group, ceding market share to other producers, or lose credibility by softening the terms of the deal. In a worst-case scenario, Saudi Arabia will have to cut production by more than 1 million barrels a day, sending the kingdom’s output to a two-year low.

A senior Iranian oil official here on Monday voiced Tehran readiness to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil freeze plan to help stabilize prices in international markets.

He further quoted Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh as saying that Iran would need at least 200 billion dollars of investment in its upstream and downstream sectors under the development plan.

“We should be producing 9 million if it wasn’t for the wars,” said Falah Al Amri, the director general of state oil marketing company SOMO.

Director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) International Affairs has announced that 62 percent of the Iranian oil is being exported to the Asian countries and the rest to the European states.

Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid-Reza Araqi says Iran is not rival to Russia in European gas market.

Deputy Minister of Petroleum Ali Kardor said that National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has released its first tender announcement for verification of the qualifications of foreign bidders.

The project has been plagued by multiple delays and cost overruns. A 2008 budget estimate of $38 billion jumped to $53 billion by the end of last year as the partners replaced undersea links after sour gas cracked the pipes.

The minister "has affirmed the need to proceed forth with increasing oil and gas production through enhancing the national effort and those of the licensed companies for the remainder of 2016 and also for 2017," the statement said.

Paolo Scaroni, the former chief executive of Italy’s Eni SpA, said Iran is able to pump as much as 4.1 million to 4.2 million barrels daily.