Based on financial statements from selected international oil and natural gas companies, spending on upstream investments was 12% lower in fourth-quarter 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Upstream spending on exploration and development typically accounts for the bulk of these companies' investment expenditures.

Oil prices should stabilise in the second half of this year and rise in 2016 and 2017 as consumers respond to a period of much cheaper fuel, a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Monday.

European gas demand fell 11.2% on the year in 2014 to 409 Bcm, or 4,418 TWh, because of "exceptionally warm" weather, industry association Eurogas said Wednesday.

Oil markets remained volatile Mar. 24 while analysts anticipated a weekly government inventory report showing another climb in US oil and product supplies. US light, sweet crude prices edged up on Mar. 24 to remain under $48/bbl while Brent prices fell modestly to settle at above $55/bbl.

China's apparent oil demand in February contracted 1% year over year to 40.7 million metric tons (mt), or an average 10.66 million barrels per day (b/d), according to a just-released Platts analysis of Chinese government data.

France’s Total completed the sale of its non-operated stake in onshore Nigeria oil mining lease (OML) 29 to Nigeria’s Aiteo Eastern E&P on Monday for $569 million.

India has bought the first oil for its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), trade sources said on Monday, marking the start of a round of purchases by the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer to build up emergency stockpiles.

Two Qatari companies agreed to pay about $5 billion for a 49% stake in Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group to help the Chinese business build an LNG receiving terminal and expand into retail gasoline sales.

On 26 March, the Solitaire pipe-laying vessel started on the first stage of the Polarled installation project. The 482-kilometre long pipeline will transport gas from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea to Nyhamna in western Norway.

Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's battle to salvage his North Sea gas fields purchase will take weeks if not months to resolve as the British cabinet has left it for the next government to take the decision, sources said.

Europe's reliance on imports of natural gas is likely to rise from half to three quarters over the next two decades and Russia will continue to supply around 30 percent of EU needs, BP's chief economist said on Friday.

The US drilling rig count dropped just 21 units to settle at 1,048 rigs working during the week ended Mar. 27, representing the smallest decline in 15 weeks.

Royal Dutch Shell will reportedly cut at least 250 more jobs this year at its UK North Sea operations.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Commerce Department said Wednesday a unit of Paris-based Schlumberger Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $232.7 million penalty for conspiracy to violate trade sanctions with Iran and Sudan.

Halliburton shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the company’s long-awaited merger with Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes also announced on Friday that its stockholders adopted the merger agreement, thereby approving the merger. Each company held their own special meetings Friday morning.