Russian top gas producer Gazprom and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a memorandum on cooperation in the gas sphere on Tuesday.

Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, rose 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.62 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.71 a barrel.

Refining of crude oil into fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel has for years been the industry's problem child, having to grapple with weak and volatile profit margins as well as competition from modern refineries built in China, India and the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has slashed the tax rate for state energy company Saudi Aramco as the company woos private investors and seeks the highest possible valuation ahead of its planned initial public offering in 2018.

“We estimate production costs for the Russian Arctic offshore in the range of $70 to $100 a barrel,” Energy Minister Alexander Novak said by email. These reserves “are our backup stock,” he said before the International Arctic Forum in Russia’s Arkhangelsk that began Wednesday.

Особое внимание было уделено расширению сотрудничества в нефтегазовой сфере в области разведки, добычи, транспортировки углеводородного сырья. Стороны договорились продолжать конструктивное взаимодействие в рамках Форума стран – экспортеров газа, нацеленное на формирование справедливого баланса интересов производителей и потребителей газа, а также на более широкое применение этого экономически эффективного и экологически чистого ископаемого вида топлива в глобальном энергобалансе, в том числе в целях снижения выбросов парниковых газов.

Принятие ОПЕК и ключевыми не входящими в ОПЕК производителями нефти Декларации о сотрудничестве от 10 декабря 2016 г. стало историческим по своему значению шагом, открывающим новую веху в развитии всего глобального нефтяного рынка.

A group of 44 U.S. onshore-focused oil producers issued a record amount of equity in 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2016, capital expenditure for these companies was $4.9 billion (72%) higher than in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of LNG, pledged almost $6.2bn worth of investment in Britain on Monday in a show of support, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May begins the formal process of negotiating a separation settlement with the European Union.

По итогам выступления в рамках панельной сессии IV Международного Арктического форума "Арктика - территория диалога" Министр энергетики Российской Федерации Александр Новак в прямом эфире телеканала «Россия 24» рассказал о реализуемых в Арктике энергетических проектах, инвестициях в Арктический регион, возможности привлечения к шельфу частных компаний, перспективах развития СПГ, а также ситуации на мировом нефтяном рынке и целесообразности продления соглашения об ограничении добычи нефти между странами ОПЕК и не ОПЕК.

ConocoPhillips (COP.N) on Wednesday agreed to sell oil sands and western Canadian natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) for C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion), making it the latest international oil major to pull back from a region where high costs and low crude prices have made it hard for large companies to make an acceptable return.

Суд признал законность санкций, несмотря на то, что Европейский союз в ходе процесса не смог представить оснований для их введения в отношении Компании. Роснефть продолжает настаивать, что не совершала никаких противоправных действий ни в одной юрисдикции, где она ведет свою деятельность, включая Украину, не имеет отношения к кризису на Украине.

"Мы открыты для широкого партнерства с другими государствами для реализации крупномасштабных взаимовыгодных проектов - от освоения природных ресурсов и развития глобальных транспортных коридоров до науки и экологии" - сказал вчера В.Путин на совещании по вопросам развития Арктики.

The project has significant public importance, as it will give an impetus to economic and social development in the Russian Arctic. The Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area is home to some of Gazprom’s key fields, which are expected to provide the bulk of Russia’s natural gas in the long term. To ensure efficient field development, the transport infrastructure should be expanded accordingly.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $52.70 per barrel at 0513 GMT, down 26 cents from their last close. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents at $50.17 a barrel.

Russian state gas exporter Gazprom, which supplies around a third of the EU's gas, with much coming via Ukraine, is keen for Nord Stream 2 to be built by 2019, when it must renegotiate gas transit fees with Kiev.

With oil receipts dominating fiscal revenue and exports, the Nigerian economy has been hit hard by low oil prices and falling oil production. The country entered into a recession in 2016, with growth contracting by 1.5 percent. Annual inflation levels doubled to 18.6 percent, reflecting hikes in electricity and fuel tariffs, a weaker naira and accommodating monetary conditions (broad money expanding at 19 percent y-o-y). Even with a significant under-execution in capital spending, the consolidated fiscal deficit increased from 3.5 percent of GDP in 2015 to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2016, because of significant revenue shortfalls.

“We are witnessing an energy transformation taking hold around the world, and this is reflected in another year of record breaking additions in new renewable energy capacity,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “This growth in deployment emphasizes the increasingly strong business case for renewables which also have multiple socio-economic benefits in terms of fueling economic growth, creating jobs and improving human welfare and the environment. But accelerating this momentum will require additional investment in order to move decisively towards decarbonising the energy sector and meet climate objectives. This new data is an encouraging sign that though there is much yet to do, we are on the right path,” Mr. Amin added.

The Joint statement made by President Hassan Rouhan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin after their meeting in the Kremlin on Tuesday underscores the two countries' strategic partnership.

"This is a big event," Putin said. "If we keep moving at this pace, which I must say is rather impressive even to me...then Russia not only can but will become the largest LNG producer in the world."