Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman said on Monday he would buy a number of gas licenses in the North Sea despite British opposition, threatening legal action if London should force him to sell them on to a third party.

John Browne, the former chief executive of BP, will take charge of a $10 billion oil and gas venture backed by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman to help it expand internationally through partnerships and acquisitions, the Financial Times reported.

The UK has blocked the sale of North Sea gasfields from Germany’s RWE to a multibillion-dollar investment fund backed by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.

Exxon Mobil Corp said spending will decline about 11 percent this year to around $34 billion due to plunging oil prices, according to a regulatory filing this week.

The United States and Russia are once more locked in what could be a generation-defining conflict, and Europe is yet again the core battleground. But this Cold War reprise isn’t about military supremacy.

Warming ties between China and Russia are giving a big boost to Chinese imports of Russian oil, to the chagrin of OPEC nations jockeying for a slice of China’s market.

Russia to continue implementing Arctic oil and gas projects despite Western sanctions and low oil prices, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said

Schlumberger will spend about $1.7 billion for a minority stake in a big Russian energy company at a time when that country's relations with the West are under strain and as energy prices hit multiyear lows.

The European Union could significantly scale back sanctions and resume discussions with Russia on issues ranging from visa-free travel; cooperation with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union; and the crisis in Libya, Syria and Iraq; if Russian President Vladimir Putin moves to end the crisis in eastern Ukraine, according to an EU discussion paper.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India’s biggest energy explorer, is banking on the world’s largest shale oil reserves to save its Russian acquisition. Stumbling blocks include oil prices at a five-year low and U.S. sanctions.

Russia announced state aid for a major energy project on Wednesday under a drive to shore up strategic firms as well as public faith in its banking system during an economic crisis deepened by Western sanctions.

Russian-Chinese energy partnership gaining momentum

RWE is seeking to insert safeguards into a €5.1bn contract to sell North Sea gasfields to a Russian billionaire that would ensure the assets remain operational in the event of further sanctions.

Total SA and its partners will use a record 16 ice-breaking tankers to smash through floes en route to and from the Arctic’s biggest liquefied natural-gas development.

BP Plc is in talks to buy a direct stake in an East Siberian oil producer from OAO Rosneft, the Russian oil producer facing U.S. and European financing bans, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.