The parties plan to examine further opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development. Among the opportunities being considered are joint activities within new projects at licensed blocks on the shelf of Vietnam and in third countries.

The Brent crude contract for July on London's ICE was up $1.14 to $48.97/bbl. The August contract gained $1.29 to $49.43/bbl. The June gas oil contract gained $11.50 to $430.25/tonne.

Oil and gas producers depend largely on bank credit lines to run their businesses. Cmpanies getting ready to restructure are working closely with their bankers before filing for bankruptcy.

As the number of failed operators mounts, the surviving companies are laying the groundwork for what they forecast will be an era of slower but steadier growth in the state at the epicenter of the U.S.’s energy boom.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is Russia’s business climate. While frequently fodder for criticism, there’s progress. Russia has surged by 61 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index since 2013 to 51st this year.

Including the assumption of CPG debt, the total enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $13 billion.

The head of Russian oil major Lukoil said on Wednesday that he sees oil prices rising above $50 per barrel by the end of the year, RIA news agency reported, citing his TV interview.

State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA raised $6.75 billion on Tuesday from a sale of five- and 10-year dollar-denominated bonds, in a closely watched return to global debt markets after the suspension of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

"[Oil’s recent rise] is not enough," said Dicker. "You can’t find the financing to keep the lights on at $50 oil. Most of these guys won’t be able to keep the lights on at $65 or $70 oil."

The agreement provides for the expansion of cooperation between the parties in Russia, Vietnam and third countries in the area of hydrocarbon exploration and production (including offshore), processing, commerce and logistics, as well as staff training. The parties agreed to consider potential options for joint projects and define the basic terms of cooperation as well as establish a working group for each of the areas of cooperation.

Socar President Rovnag Abdullaev disclosed last week that Azerbaijan was in the process of negotiating an agreement under which it would purchase 3-5bn m³/yr of gas from Gazprom.

The transaction is expected to deliver annual pretax savings of at least $400 million as of 2019 and boost earnings per share significantly, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Malaysia's national oil company (NOC) Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) posted a profit after tax of $1.1 billion (MYR 4.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2016 (1Q 2016) that ended March 31, down 60 percent from $2.8 billion (MYR 11.4 billion) recorded in the same period last year, while revenue fell 26 percent to $12.1 billion (MYR 49.1 billion) from $16.3 billion (MYR 66.2 billion) in the corresponding period, financial results released Wednesday by the firm showed.

China is Russia’s biggest single trade partner, with its share rising to 12.8 percent from 12 percent in 2015. Even so, the overall turnover of goods fell by 26 percent last year to $68.1 billion. That means the countries are far off reaching their target of $100 billion in trade.

Shell, Eni, Total and Statoil have announced green energy investments with a combined value of around $2.5 billion in recent weeks in a bid to diversify away from their core oil and gas markets.

Chevron Corp on Tuesday said it will slash its budget by at least 17% for the next two years to save cash due to the low crude oil prices.

Повышение гибкости экспортной политики, диверсификация экспортных маршрутов и рынков сбыта, а также развитие перспективных направлений газового бизнеса являются основными направлениями укрепления конкурентоспособности «Газпрома» на долгосрочную перспективу.

The Barents Sea is characterized by low exploration maturity with a high resource potential. Operators have discovered 3.3 billion boe in the Barents Sea since exploration began, and the region has an estimated undiscovered potential of 7.6 billion boe. About 5 billion boe is expected to gas and condensate.

Saudi Arabia’s debt plans come as falling oil prices encourage other Gulf countries, including Abu Dhabi and Oman, to turn to capital markets for funding, setting a new record for borrowing by Middle Eastern governments so far in 2016. This week, Qatar said it was looking to tap dollar bond markets for the first time in five years.

Oil Search Ltd. has moved to consolidate natural-gas developments on Papua New Guinea with a US$2.2 billion deal to buy U.S.-listed midsize energy company InterOil Corp amid a growing natural gas glut.