Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and BP Plc will retain $8 billion a year in cash by giving investors the option of receiving payouts in shares instead, according to Jean-Pierre Dmirdjian, an analyst at Liberum Capital Ltd. That’s equivalent to about 8.5 percent of total cash and equivalents currently on their books, making the so-called scrip dividend a vital tool as companies curb spending to ride out the slump in oil prices.

Fossil fuels provide more than 80 percent of the energy Americans use every day, according to the Energy Information Administration. The government’s own estimates show that we will need oil and natural gas for decades to come and it’s a critical part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that makes our country strong.

Torres-Barron noted that gas demand in Mexico “has increased significantly in the last decade and it keeps growing at almost a 4% yearly rate,” which will result in transportation infrastructure being expanded in length by 84%.

The winter natural gas futures strip, the four contracts from December 2015 through March 2016, averaged $2.419 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) over the report week (Wednesday, October 28, through Wednesday, November 4). This is nearly 40% lower than the five-year average, and one-third lower than the five-year minimum in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).

“The efficiency of Japanese investments (alternative to those in Russia) is mostly very low. From what we know in the last 3 yeast Japanese firms faced almost 600 bln yen of write downs (around 6 bln USD) because of bad investments in projects associated with hard-to-recover hydrocarbons in US and Canada, and also because of unsuccessful projects in the North Sea. And this had to be done in a period of high oil prices! De-facto IRR for international upstream projects of INPEX by the end of 2014 was 3.1% (Wood Macikenzie estimates). This is around 4 times less than a standard revenue ratio”.

Oil today stands at around $50 a barrel, having more than halved since June 2014 after global supplies dramatically rose due in large part to the U.S. shale oil boom but also due to the unlocking of huge offshore reserves in Brazil, Africa and Asia.

The Saudi-Russian battle for Europe's crude oil buyers intensified this week as Swedish refiner Preem bought its first cargo of Saudi Arabian crude oil in around two decades, trading sources said.

The regulators gave a negative classification to $372.6 billion out of $3.9 trillion in loans impacted by the review, or 9.5 percent of the loans. Classified loans increased 9.4 percent from a year ago.

The worldwide rig count for October 2015 was 2,086, down 85 from the 2,171 counted in September 2015, and down 1,571 from the 3,657 counted in October 2014.

U.S. Rig Count is down 4 rigs from last week to 771, with oil rigs down 6 to 572, and gas rigs up 2 to 199. U.S. Rig Count is down 1,154 rigs from last year at 1,925, with oil rigs down 996, gas rigs down 157, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 rig. The U.S. Offshore rig count is 32, down 1 rig from last week, and down 21 rigs year over year.

- Production averaged approximately 667,000 boe per day, an increase of 3% year over year, adjusted for asset sales - Adjusted net loss of $0.05 per fully diluted share and adjusted ebitda of $560 million - 2015 total production guidance increased to 670 – 680 mboe per day - 2015 production expense and general and administrative expense guidance lowered significantly - 2015 capital guidance reduced to $3.4 – $3.9 billion

The oil and gas industry has cut $200 billion from investments this year as low prices discourage new projects, leading to cuts in crude supplies equal to half the daily output of Saudi Arabia, according to the kingdom’s Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman.

This decision will cost thousands of jobs and is an assault to American workers. It’s politics at its worst.

Long-term oil market fundamentals remain robust but prolonged low prices could threaten security of supply and pave the way for a price spike, Saudi Arabia's vice oil minister said

Crude oil production in December from seven major US shale plays is expected to drop 118,000 b/d to 4.95 million b/d.

“Russia plays a central role in the question of how we Europeans can secure our energy supply,” Schroeder, whose friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been controversial in Germany, said at the Nov. 9 event. “Norway and Russia are the most secure and reliable energy partners for Europe.”

OPEC’s share of the global oil market will expand from 2020 as prices recover to $80 and supply outside the group stagnates due to spending cuts, according to the International Energy Agency.

“Russia plays a central role in the question of how we Europeans can secure our energy supply. Norway and Russia are the most secure and reliable energy partners for Europe”, said the former German Chancellor.

EIA forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $54/b in 2015 and $56/b in 2016. The 2015 forecast price is unchanged from last month's STEO, and the 2016 forecast price is $2/b lower. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices average $4/b lower than the Brent price in 2015 and $5/b lower in 2016. The current values of futures and options contracts for February 2016 delivery (Market Prices and Uncertainty Report) suggest the market expects WTI prices to range from $35/b to $66/b (at the 95% confidence interval) in February 2016.

The process of adjustment in the oil market is rarely a smooth one, but, in central scenario, the market rebalances at $80/bbl in 2020, with further increases in price thereafter.