The claim relates to a U.K. joint venture between the Chinese and a Canadian firm which the Spanish oil producer acquired last year.

Azerbaijan is hoping in the best case for profits in excess of $50bn from the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC). State oil company Socar told that even the gloomiest outlook showed that Azerbaijan’s share in the profit of SGC would be at least $30bn over the 25 years' duration of the sales and purchase agreements.

With oil prices forecast to remain low, Azerbaijan’s growth and fiscal position are likely to weaken further in 2016, posing significant risks. Financial sector vulnerabilities and an underdeveloped macroeconomic policy framework are further adding to the country’s challenges.

“This is a critical opportunity for Indonesia to implement further reforms that will enhance the competitiveness of its manufacturing and services sectors, especially tourism. In addition to ongoing reforms, a sound industrial strategy will be key, focused on technology transfer or capacity development in terms of product design, engineering and development in promising industries. To upgrade industries and climb the technological ladder, a strong partnership with the private sector will be crucial,”

India’s economy expanded at a faster pace in financial year (FY) 2016[1] even as a number of its growth engines stalled. Agriculture – having faced two consecutive drought years – rural household consumption, private investments, and exports have not performed to potential. The oil bonanza most directly benefited the government, which for the first time in five years exceeded its revenue collection targets and used the resources to contain the fiscal deficit, transfer more resources to states, and spend more on infrastructure. Capital spending by the central government was ramped up, its efforts amplified by state governments that had additional resources from larger fiscal devolution.

Supply and demand for oil are coming back into balance, and the response of shale producers to rising prices will help determine how high crude can go, Christof Ruehl, the global head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, said Wednesday in an interview in Dubai. Ruehl’s view that the re-balancing will take until at least the middle of 2017 contrasts with the more optimistic outlook of some industry leaders and analysts who foresee demand nearing supply by the end of this year.

“The decline in prices is unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in production from existing producers because the high fixed costs of building the infrastructure have been paid and marginal production costs are relatively low,” said Ms Heath.

With income falling, the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) posted a combined current account deficit of $99.60 billion in 2015, compared with a surplus of $238.10 billion in 2014.

"The Kingdom's oil policies are rooted in responsibility, and Saudi Arabia is seeking to maintain that balance while also giving heed to moderate prices for producers and consumers,"

"We have such low production costs that we will always be able to cut the selling price by a dollar or two when it comes to fighting off a rival," said a senior source at Gazprom.

It is absolutely compatible with the Energy Union. It will be sustainable, affordable and help security of supply, he said. It will increase liquidity in Europe but nobody will be forced to buy the gas, which will be priced against hubs.

It is absolutely compatible with the Energy Union. It will be sustainable, affordable and help security of supply, he said. It will increase liquidity in Europe but nobody will be forced to buy the gas, which will be priced against hubs.

"We are glad that we've managed to maintain our positions on traditional markets, primarily in Europe," Sechin said pointing out to recent agreements with PKN Orlen to increase deliveries to Poland and the Czech Republic.

Global upstream development spending from 2015 to 2020 has declined 22%, or $740 billion, since fourth-quarter 2014. Including cuts to conventional exploration investment, the figure increases to just more than $1 trillion.

U.S. crude was down $2.77 at $47.34 a barrel at around 0314 GMT. Brent crude was down $2.75 at $48.16 a barrel.

"We have seen a large amount of short positions being closed while long positions have been opened," Novak said in reference to speculative bets - shorts - in the market that prices will fall, and the opposite - longs - that they will rise.

BP’s energy outlook this year foresees a compound annual growth rate of gas demand at 1.8% until 2035. In the OECD, this growth results from the coal-to-gas transition in power generation. The US major ExxonMobil supports this view, forecasting gas will account for 30% of the power sector and will equal coal by 2040.

"Such huge outflows raise a question as to whether upstream business will generate enough cash, and where capex will figure in the priority order of companies," said Andrew Slaughter, executive director, Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. "When we annualized operating cash flows of all the three company sets in 2015 for the next five years, assuming a $55/bbl average oil price, we see a total funding gap of up to $2 trillion from operations."

The Calgary-based pipeline operator filed papers late Friday seeking arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement, arguing that TransCanada had every reason to believe it would win approval to build Keystone XL.

U.S. Rig Count is down 3 rigs from last week to 421, with oil rigs down 7 to 330, gas rigs up 4 to 90, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 7 rigs from last week to 76, with oil rigs up 8 to 36, gas rigs down 1 to 39, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.