The offers, which were submitted in July, nevertheless fell far short of LetterOne's target price of up to $1.2 billion, with the highest offers coming in at around $750 million, according to several sources close to the process.

China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund said it would finance part of the project, a development Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné called “a clear commitment by China” in an interview Wednesday. The price paid for Silk Road’s 9.9% stake in Yamal wasn’t disclosed.

Gazprom's new strategy appears to focus on flexibility in supply routes, markets and possibly even pricing; on dealing with the European energy market as a whole instead of piecemeal; and on leaving natural gas on Europe's doorstep to be transported to market through internal European pipelines.

Changing dynamics in the global LNG market hint at a stronger role of European markets, and a decreased interest of American players given a minimal growth of the global markets, which are expected to increase 'only' between 2.1 and 2.5% in 2015.

A survey of 13 investment banks by The Wall Street Journal cut their average forecast for Brent crude, the international price gauge, by $9 to $58.70 a barrel, compared with last month’s survey. For West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil marker, the average forecast is for $54.40 a barrel, also down $9 from August.

India is ready to invest more than $15.2 billion to build projects in Iran including taking up full-scale development of Chabahar Port if Tehran offers better terms including cheaper gas, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

"The original Nord Stream was funded by project finance. We believe raising multi-billion dollar project financing for Nord Stream 2 in the capital markets would probably be much harder now. This is because Western sanctions have significantly hindered international funding to Russian corporates, even those not directly sanctioned," Fitch said.

Results from second-quarter 2015 financial statements of a number of U.S. companies with onshore oil operations suggest continued financial strain for some companies. Low oil prices have significantly reduced cash flow for U.S. oil producers, and to adjust to lower cash flows, companies have reduced capital expenditures and raised more cash from debt and equity.

Total petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) in August rose by 0.8 percent from August 2014 to average nearly 19.6 million barrels per day, according to API’s Monthly Statistical Report for August 2015. August crude oil production was the highest level for the month and the highest year to date level in 43 years, since 1972.

U.S. Rig Count is down 6 rigs from last week to 842, with oil rigs down 8 to 644, gas rigs up 2 to 198, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

The agreement concerning Nord Stream-2 represents a success for Russia; it accomplishes the strategic goals of Russian gas policy in Europe (main - ceasing gas exports through Ukraine), despite the difficult political relations with the EU, the Western sanctions regime, and Brussels’ declaration that it will diversify the EU’s sources of supply and reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

«Газпром» и Siemens обсудили перспективы сотрудничества в рамках «Северного потока-2»

Crude oil production in October from seven major U.S. shale plays is expected to drop 80,000 b/d to 5.21 million b/d, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s latest Drilling Productivity Report.

World Oil Demand. In 2015, world oil demand growth is expected to be around 1.46 mb/d after an upward revision of around 84 tb/d, mainly to reflect better-than-expected data from OECD region. In 2016, world oil demand is anticipated to rise by 1.29 mb/d after a downward revision of around 50 tb/d.

Romania's intention to stop importing Russian gas will not affect export revenue of Gazprom, said Ivan Grachev, head of the RF State Duma Energy Committee. "Russian gas consumption in Romania is lower than random fluctuations of Gazprom exports to Europe", added Mr. Grachev.