OPEC pumped 31.28 million barrels per day in June, the fourth straight month since February that the group has added production.

“It’s a serious problem not just for the United States but for the whole world economy. Debt exceeds gross domestic product there.”

Massive oversupply is likely to push oil prices down even further, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, adding that the rebalancing of the market was likely to last well into 2016.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Monday it revised down the demand for its crude this year, to a level far below its current output, despite higher estimates for global consumption.

Crude oil production in August from seven major US shale plays is expected to decline 91,000 b/d to 5.36 million b/d.

Russia’s Rosneft and Norway’s Statoil completed drilling works as part of the Pilot Project at the PK1 layer of the North-Komsomolskoye field in Purovsky and Nadymsky regions of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District.

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. is pleased to announce the spudding of the Kalala S-1 well in the Beetaloo Basin, Australia. Kalala S-1 is the first of Falcon's fully funded and uncapped, 2015 three well drilling and evaluation programme in the Beetaloo Basin. The 2015 three well programme is the commencement of a nine well exploration and appraisal programme planned from 2015 to 2018.

Low oil prices have tightened the screws on some of the most depleted and costly oilfields in Britain's North Sea, forcing operators to cease production earlier than planned and adding to fears of a domino effect in mature areas.

For many years, Russia has advocated that the frequent gas interruptions are the fault of transit states such as Ukraine, whom the Kremlin sees as unreliable. As a result, Gazprom rolled out several pipeline projects that would bypass Ukraine altogether and provide a direct route to its customer base in Europe.

Fifteen nations, more than half of them from the former Soviet bloc, endorsed an action plan to improve energy infrastructure and ultimately to ensure each of them maintains three separate sources of supply. Ministers meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission’s vice president in charge of energy union, chose seven gas link projects that should be sped up and that may be eligible for financial support.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant is betting on crude rising to $90 a barrel by 2020, a key assumption in its move to buy rival BG Group (BG.L) for $70 billion to help transform it into a leading player in the costly deepwater oil production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets.

Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, said on Thursday that plans to build a Russian-backed 3 million cubic meter oil storage terminal had been canceled after its Russian partner raised concerns over the project's feasibility.

This month the head of the EBRD said the bank could invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Ukraine's energy sector this year, but that any investment would depend on Kiev implementing long-promised energy sector reforms.

Schlumberger Ltd.'s second-quarter earnings fell 30% on plunging revenue, as the oil-services sector continues to grapple with weak oil prices.

Crude oil prices in first-quarter 2015 were the lowest in several years, which contributed to reduced profitability for these companies compared to previous quarters. Although companies reduced investment spending, declines in operating cash flow were greater, contributing to a decline in cash balances. Second-quarter 2015 results could show continued declines in profits, cash flow, and capital expenditure.

Russia is the world's largest producer of crude oil (including lease condensate) and the second-largest producer of dry natural gas. Russia also produces significant amounts of coal. Russia's economy is highly dependent on its hydrocarbons, and oil and natural gas revenues account for more than 50% of the federal budget revenues.

U.S. Rig Count is up 19 rigs from last week to 876, with oil rigs up 21 to 659, gas rigs down 2 to 216, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. U.S. Rig Count is down 1,007 rigs from last year at 1,883, with oil rigs down 903, gas rigs down 102, and miscellaneous rigs down 2. The U.S. Offshore rig count is 31, unchanged from last week, and down 29 rigs year over year. Canadian Rig Count is up 8 rigs from last week to 200, with oil rigs unchanged at 98, and gas rigs up 8 to 102. Canadian Rig Count is down 195 rigs from last year at 395, with oil rigs down 140, and gas rigs down 55.

Last week, Operator Statoil and its PL146/PL333 partner Total E&P Norge announced they made a gas and condensate discovery in the Julius prospect in the King Lear area in Norway’s North Sea

Gazprom is first and foremost a tool of Russian foreign policy, which Putin is not shy about wielding to pursue Russian interests. During Putin’s years in power, the Kremlin has used its control over Gazprom — increasing or decreasing the cost of energy — to maintain influence over Russia’s neighbors. Putin once described Gazprom as “a powerful political and economic lever of influence over the rest of the world,” and a team of Russian foreign policy experts noted that “if the leaders of this or that country decide to show good will towards the Russian Federation, then the situation with gas deliveries, pricing policy and former debts changes on a far more favorable note to the buyer.”

Global oil and natural-gas producers have delayed $200 billion of investment in more than 45 projects following the slump in crude prices, according to Wood Mackenzie.