The expected fiscal consolidation and the subdued nature of the recovery are putting in place the conditions for the central bank to resume, in due course, monetary policy easing in a manner consistent with the 4 percent inflation target. However, the pace of easing should take into account the presence of external risks and the need to build credibility under the newly introduced inflation targeting regime.

Gazprom has started to vary its marketing strategy by using a variety of methodologies, including selling gas via the traditional long term contracts, via auctions, via Gazprom Marketing & Trading and via Wingas (its 100% owned European utility). As a result it has gained flexibility (that was formerly in the hands of the European utilities) and can adapt much faster to market changes.

EBITDA decreased by 12.5% quarter-on-quarter mainly because of negative crude oil export duty time lag effect, which was partially offset by higher refining margins in Russia. Profit attributable to shareholders was 54.8 bln RUB, down 12.4% from the second quarter of 2016.

“We expect demand to recover in 2017, then prices will stabilize, and this will happen without an intervention from OPEC,” Al-Falih said in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. “We don’t have a single path which is to cut production at the OPEC meeting, we can also depend on recovery in consumption, especially from the U.S.”

Novatek is planning a new large-scale project known as Arctic LNG 2, which targets annual production of 12 million to 16 million tons of LNG, with operations aimed to start by 2025. Mikhelson expressed a desire to see Japan be a cooperative partner at every step of the plan, from gas production to liquefaction plant construction and management, all the way to sales. It was also made clear that should Japanese enterprises cooperate, the country could expect a portion of the output.

"According to our plans, (Russian) oil output is going up next year. If we keep production at the current level we are making our contribution, for us that essentially means a cut of 200,000-300,000 barrels per day (in 2017)", he told journalists.

"We will do everything that our partners from OPEC are expecting. To freeze oil production is not an issue for us," Putin told a news conference in Lima after the APEC summit.

A senior official at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said on Friday that the country has signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU's) with three leading Russian oil companies for bilateral cooperation.

Russia’s decision earlier this year to engage in talks with OPEC about limiting oil output has added more than 400 billion rubles ($6 billion) to the nation’s budget, according to two officials familiar with government calculations.

Russia's oil and gas companies will continue to benefit from the weak rouble while avoiding a major tax hike in 2017, according to a new special report by Fitch Ratings.

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.

The deal between Essar and a consortium led by Kremlin oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM) appeared dead in the water two months ago after Saudi state energy firm Aramco weighed in, according to seven Russia, India and Saudi-based industry sources familiar with or involved in the negotiations.

Gazprom has terminated a shareholder agreement for Nord Stream 2, a joint venture to build a pipeline between Russia and Germany, circumventing Poland and other countries, Russian press agency TASS has reported.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has voiced Tehran's readiness for boosting energy cooperation with Moscow, underlining the presence of Russian companies in various energy sectors in Iran.

Supply growth from nations outside the OPEC will be “just shy” of 500,000 barrels a day, an increase of 110,000 barrels a day from the agency’s forecast last month, it said Thursday. Russian production is likely to grow by 190,000 barrels a day, building on a 230,000-barrel increase in 2016.