The $10bn Tapi project is aimed to carry 33bn m³/yr of gas to the participant countries by 2021. Ashgabat has an 85% stake in the challenging project, which equates to one third of the country's total yearly budget.

В ближайшее время будет подписана дорожная карта, направленная на реализацию более 70 совместных проектов. Стратегическое направление сотрудничества - газовая отрасль.

Iran's failure to get full access to the global financial system a year after it signed the nuclear deal with world powers has intensified domestic political infighting. It has also turned up the heat on President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist facing re-election next year, who has gambled on attracting foreign investment to help raise voters' living standards.

Iraq reaped $3.744 billion from oil exports in July, Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said in a statement. He said average production for the month was over 3.202 million bpd.

Iran exports about 2 million barrels of its daily output of 3.8 million, said Mohsen Ghamsari, NIOC’s director of international affairs. The country has regained about 80 percent of the market share it held before the U.S. and European Union tightened sanctions on its oil industry in 2012, he said. Sanctions were eased in January, and Iran plans to double crude exports.

The World Bank is downgrading its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 percent from the 2.9 percent pace projected in January. The move is due to sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices, weak global trade, and diminishing capital flows.

The current oil price environment has had a negative impact on oil investments, hurt energy efficiency and boosted the share of oil produced in the Middle East.

Japan's crude imports from Iran recovered to pre-sanction levels in May, importing 307,691 b/d, up 61.2% year on year and up from 19,161 b/d in April, according to preliminary data released June 30 by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The amount of LNG volume delivered to South Asia (India, Pakistan) from Qatar during the first half of the year climbed almost 50% year on year, taking advantage of weaker demand from East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, China) and higher Qatari output.

"The Future Growth and Wellhead Pressure Management Project represents an excellent opportunity for the company," said Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson. "The project builds on a record of strong performance at Tengiz and will add value for Chevron and its stockholders."

The company said this week in a presentation on its website that the decision on expanding the Tengiz development in Kazakhstan will be made in mid-2016. Installing 4,500 camp beds for construction crews is done and port dredging 25 percent complete, it said. The project may cost as much as $40 billion and add crude supply equivalent to that of Libya. The investment was put on hold last year after cost estimates ballooned amid plunging oil prices.

72.4% of the overall scope of the work is done, which is ahead of schedule by about 2.5%. $12bn have been spent to date from total SD2 cost estimate of $24bn including an inflation rate for the period 2014-2020

With oil prices forecast to remain low, Azerbaijan’s growth and fiscal position are likely to weaken further in 2016, posing significant risks. Financial sector vulnerabilities and an underdeveloped macroeconomic policy framework are further adding to the country’s challenges.

Azerbaijan is hoping in the best case for profits in excess of $50bn from the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC). State oil company Socar told that even the gloomiest outlook showed that Azerbaijan’s share in the profit of SGC would be at least $30bn over the 25 years' duration of the sales and purchase agreements.

Iran is regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected since sanctions were lifted in January, helped by securing more tankers through a temporary shipping insurance fix.