While in Germany and Austria, the promoters of Nord Stream 2 are quite outspoken, in the Netherlands and France, there is recognizable, but more silent support in government circles. Here, as well, the main line of argu­mentation is based on the added value of infrastructure di­versification and the neutrality of political actors on eco­nomic activity in the market.

In 1Q 2016, LUKOIL Group total hydrocarbon production (including our share in equity affiliates) increased by 0.5% y-o-y and reached 214.2 mln boe. Crude oil and NGL production was 183 mln bbl (-0.2% y-o-y). On an organic basis (excluding the impact of divestment of certain producing assets in Kazakhstan in 2015), oil production was up by 0.6% y-o-y with production decline at mature fields in Western Siberia more than offset by an increase in production in Iraq and projects in Timan-Pechora, Ural region and Northern Caspian in Russia.

The closed transaction is symbolic for both the companies and marks transition to a new level of cooperation in the Russian-Indian relations in sphere of energy. ONGC gets substantial interest and relevant rights in one of the biggest large-scale projects of Rosneft of the last decade, whereas Rosneft retains major shares in the project and will operate on the field through the operator company RN-Vankor.

The parties discussed relevant cooperation issues, placing an emphasis on planned gas supplies to China via the eastern and western routes, as well as the prospects of collaboration in the field of underground gas storage, gas-fired power generation, and natural gas vehicles.

Russia’s crude production continuing to grow this year by around 100,000 b/d or even slightly above this figure. The growth is supported by investments made in previous years.

Russia's Gazprom plans to export a record 165 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to Europe this year, the company's deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev told reporters on Thursday.

China's crude oil imports from Russia surged 52.4 percent in April from a year earlier to reach a record 1.17 million barrels per day (bpd), customs data showed on Monday, ahead of the previous record of 1.13 million bpd in December.

China is Russia’s biggest single trade partner, with its share rising to 12.8 percent from 12 percent in 2015. Even so, the overall turnover of goods fell by 26 percent last year to $68.1 billion. That means the countries are far off reaching their target of $100 billion in trade.

Socar President Rovnag Abdullaev disclosed last week that Azerbaijan was in the process of negotiating an agreement under which it would purchase 3-5bn m³/yr of gas from Gazprom.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is Russia’s business climate. While frequently fodder for criticism, there’s progress. Russia has surged by 61 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index since 2013 to 51st this year.

The agreement provides for the expansion of cooperation between the parties in Russia, Vietnam and third countries in the area of hydrocarbon exploration and production (including offshore), processing, commerce and logistics, as well as staff training. The parties agreed to consider potential options for joint projects and define the basic terms of cooperation as well as establish a working group for each of the areas of cooperation.

The parties plan to examine further opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development. Among the opportunities being considered are joint activities within new projects at licensed blocks on the shelf of Vietnam and in third countries.

Russian state-owned oil and gas giant Gazprom is currently working to create a liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution hub in Bahrain. The hub will be meant to intake LNG from various sources, including Russia.

Gazprom reported the average production cost of natural gas in 2015 at ₽1643 per 1000 cubic meters (mcm) or $27.09/mcm or $0.84/MMBtu. The corresponding numbers for 2014 are ₽1470/mcm, $38.73/mcm and $1.21/MMBtu. The cost in US dollars is affected by the devaluation of Russian ruble. The average US dollar rate in 2015 was ₽60.66 compared with ₽37.97 in 2014.

The reality is that the Kremlin is always likely to be heavily involved in the Russian oil industry. That creates the concern that the proposals might be structured to try to achieve higher prices, which is not consistent with efficient price discovery.