U.S. oil production has grown rapidly in recent years. EIA data, which reflect combined production of crude oil and lease condensate, show a rise from 5.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2011 to 7.5 million b/d in 2013, and a record 1.2 million b/d increase to 8.7 million b/d in 2014.

There will be no US-style shale gas revolution in Europe, the president of the International Gas Union (IGU) has told

The agreement struck between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) and Iran on March 2 paved the way for a comprehensive deal to begin lifting sanctions in late June. Iran has been off limits to most foreign investors for nearly a decade. Unsurprisingly, it is regarded as El Dorado by many international corporations, particularly those in the energy sector.

Wintershall will continue investing in its core regions, with Russia remaining the most important area for the company.

China started construction last week of a pipeline to receive Russian gas, Russian state gas company Gazprom said on Tuesday.

Greece expected to sign a memorandum on Turkish Stream during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will be held June 18-20.

Russia's Gazprom plans to start building a pipeline to Turkey this month to get gas to Europe without going through Ukraine, company sources said, although it has no firm agreement with Ankara and faces opposition from the European Union.

Russian oil output remained unchanged in May at a post-Soviet high of 10.71 million barrels per day (bpd), Energy Ministry data showed on Tuesday, three days before OPEC meets to decide on output levels.

OAO Gazprom, the biggest natural gas producer, will probably see lower gains in Europe for at least four years as weaker oil prices and rising competition threaten to further cut its profits, a government forecast showed.

Greece's energy minister has discussed in Moscow the construction of a pipeline that will transport Russian gas to Europe through its territory, the Greek energy ministry said on Saturday.

U.S. shale oil producers, having weathered the worst price plunge in their industry's brief history, now face a dilemma: whether to stay in a defensive crouch after slashing their rig fleets, or start drilling more wells to capture a partial recovery in prices.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Friday said it has signed an interim agreement to buy 0.7 million tonnes (MT) per year of LNG from US on a long-term contract beginning 2018.

Real gross domestic product -- the value of the production of goods and services in the United States, adjusted for price changes -- decreased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent.

An increasingly assertive China has warned that World War 3 is "inevitable" unless the United States stops meddling in the South China Sea affairs. Earlier this week, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said in a new white paper that it is going to up the ante in the South China Sea. In a sign of its growing self-confidence, Beijing said that it would now focus less on defensive capabilities, and step up efforts to build offensive capabilities.

U.S. Rig Count is down 10 rigs from last week to 875, with oil rigs down 13 to 646, gas rigs up 3 to 225, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 4.