For the United States and Russia, total petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbon production, in energy content terms, is almost evenly split between petroleum and natural gas. Saudi Arabia's production, on the other hand, heavily favors petroleum. Total petroleum production is made up of several different types of liquid fuels, including crude oil and lease condensate, tight oil, extra-heavy oil, and bitumen. In addition, various processes produce natural gas plant liquids (NGPL), biofuels, and refinery processing gain, among other possible liquid fuels.

India said Monday it will invest up to $500 million in a deal to develop a strategic port in Iran and both countries planned a number of projects they say are worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

CNPC and Mozambique’s national oil and gas company ENH have signed a cooperation framework agreement under which the two sides will reinforce cooperation in oil and gas exploration and production, and natural gas processing and marketing.

China consumed about 10.62 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in April, a record daily consumption volume, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data published on Friday.

Russia’s economy is closer to growth than at any time since it slid into recession and central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina is focusing on what she says are “positive signals.”

Several Russian officials say the government is considering raising income-tax levels and increasing value-added tax but that any changes would only take place after 2018—a presidential election year.

Without any of those reforms, Saudi Arabia’s financial troubles would continue to intensify.

The Paris-based agency said global oil stocks will experience a “dramatic reduction” in the second half of the year, but also warned that they will continue to increase in the first half of the year as Iran ramps up its production, adding to the nearly two years of oversupply.

Russian oil and gas condensate production may reach 544.6 million tonnes this year, rising to 565 million tonnes in 2017.

Changes to the data in this month’s confirm the direction of travel of the oil market towards balance. The net result of our changes to demand and supply data is that we expect to see global oil stocks increase by 1.3 million b/d in the first half of 2016 followed by a dramatic reduction in the second half of 2016 to 200,000 b/d.

Saudi Arabia is going through one of the most difficult periods in its modern history. Oil prices have dropped from a July 2014 high of $115 per barrel to less than $30 per barrel in January this year. The country is surrounded by failed states: Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria and, arguably, Lebanon. It has a demographic bulge of ambitious, but exceedingly frustrated, young men and women whose expectations differ dramatically from those of their parents. And it faces an emboldened Iran eager to interfere in the affairs of Arab countries, and with the financial wherewithal to do so, via proxy armed militia.

France’s energy and environment minister Segolene Royal wants to find a “legal way” to prevent the import of non-conventional US LNG.

U.S. Rig Count is down 9 rigs from last week to 406, with oil rigs down 10 to 318, gas rigs up 1 to 87, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 7 rigs from last week to 43, with oil rigs up 5 to 16, gas rigs up 2 to 26, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

In light of the increasing demand for Russian energy products in Europe, the meeting participants stressed the importance of the Nord Stream 2 project. It was noted that the new gas transmission pipeline would not only improve the reliability of gas deliveries but also facilitate the development of the European gas market.

Reform of sprawling state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to improve efficiency is a priority for China's leaders as growth slows in the world's second biggest economy, and was a key plank of the country's latest five-year plan agreed in 2015.