Britain's North Sea oil and gas sector has shed more than 5,000 jobs since late last year, the country's new Oil and Gas Authority said on Monday, putting an official figure on job losses resulting from a year-long decline in oil prices.

US shale producers reported a cash outflow of more than $30bn in the first half of the year, in a sign of the challenges facing the US’s once-booming industry as the slump in oil prices begins to take effect. The shortfall points to a rise in bankruptcies and restructurings in the US shale oil industry, which has expanded rapidly in the past seven years but has never covered its capital expenditure from its cash flow.

Rosneft Vietnam B.V., общество группы ОАО «НК «Роснефть», и японская Japan Drilling Co., Ltd (JDC) через свою дочернюю компанию Hakuryu 5, Inc. подписали договор о предоставлении и эксплуатации морской буровой установки HAKURYU- 5 для бурения поисково-разведочных скважин в рамках проектов «Роснефти» во Вьетнаме. С помощью установки планируется пробурить две скважины на блоках 06.1 и 05.3/11 бассейна Нам Кон Шон на шельфе Вьетнама в 2016 г.

Oil declined for a second day after another Russian official ruled out cooperation on production cuts with OPEC, adding to signs that a global oversupply will persist.

Amidst the gloomy days of August when Brent Crude bottomed out at $42/bbl, the acquisition of Cameron by Schlumberger ($14.8 billion) took place as one of the largest mergers in the oil patch, following the tie-up of Halliburton and Baker Hughes ($32 billion) in November 2014. This consolidation has resulted in an integrated service & equipment provider covering the full oil & gas lifecycle from reservoir to first flow.

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's state oil giant, is talking to banks about raising a $5 billion loan related to a refinery it built in collaboration with China's Sinopec.

Осуществленные инвестиции в добычу пока еще добавляют объемы на рынок, но происходящие сокращения инвестиций уже начинают оказывать влияние. В перспективе нескольких лет, несомненно, скажется эффект осуществляемых сейчас программ снижения инвестиций, прежде всего, со стороны транснациональных корпораций. Пока реализация их долгосрочных, начатых еще до нынешнего кризиса, инвестиционных программ выразилась даже в некотором росте добычи. Но уже в 2014 году нефтяные гиганты заявили о сокращении инвестиций в добычу, в 2015 году дополнительные сокращения на 10-20% и выше были анонсированы такими мейджерами как BP, Shell, Chevron, Total. Общая сумма сокращений инвестиций в добычу в мире составила около 140 млрд долларов, а к концу 2016 году увеличится до 200-250 млрд. долларов. В перспективе 2-3 лет это неизбежно скажется на уровня добычи и будет иметь долгосрочный негативный эффект.

The deal with BASF gives Gazprom full control of a jointly operated European gas trading and storage business, the main strategic rationale.

U.S. crude-oil futures remained in negative territory Tuesday in Asian trade, tracking the previous day’s drop in Brent crude when U.S. markets were shut for a holiday.

The Turkish Stream project is a Russian proposal which will transport Russian gas to Europe while bypassing Ukraine. The project is planned to carry 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe via the Turkish-Greek border. Turkey is due to receive 15.75 billion cubic meters out of the total capacity of the pipeline.

On measures including cash flow, profit margins and share prices, OAO Rosneft, Lukoil PJSC-- Russia’s two largest oil producers -- and OAO Gazprom Neft are performing better than Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc or Exxon Mobil Corp.

Preliminary government data showed oil and gas output over the first six months of this year rose 3 percent compared with 2014. The increase comes after years of investments in new technologies that have meant new fields are run more efficiently. However, the recent slump in oil prices has tightened oil companies' purse strings and Oil & Gas UK expects capital expenditure to fall to 10-11 billion pounds ($16.91 billion)this year, down from 14.7 billion pounds last year.

Energy companies have been hurt by the swoon in crude prices this year, but Canadian Oil Sands is among the worst performing. The company’s stock has lost almost 40% of its value so far this year, compared with a 22% decline in the Toronto Stock Exchange energy index.

Together, these deals mean that Europe’s big energy companies want to return to business as usual with Russia, despite the continuing conflict in Ukraine and the EU’s continuing sanctions on Russia.

Low oil prices risk causing a lack of investment in conventional oil supply in non-OPEC countries, strengthening OPEC market power and creating additional uncertainty, the IEA's director for energy markets and security, Keisuke Sadamori, said Tuesday.

Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) totaled 31.26 million barrels per day (b/d) in August, down 140,000 b/d from the July level of 31.4 million b/d as several member countries, including Saudi Arabia, trimmed output, according to a just-released Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts.

In the first half of 2015, Saudi Arabia exported on average 4.4 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil to seven major trading partners in Asia, making up more than half of Saudi Arabia's total crude oil exports over that period. Even as global crude oil prices fell in 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia increased production and kept its export levels high, enabling it to maintain its market share in these countries. However, long-term trends within Saudi Arabia's energy sector may reduce its global crude oil market share.

Brent crude oil prices will average $54/b in 2015 and $59/b in 2016. Forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices in 2015 and 2016 average $5/b lower than the Brent price. The current values of futures and options contracts for December 2015 delivery suggest the market expects WTI prices to range from $32/b to $73/b (at the 95% confidence interval) in December 2015.

Some of the largest U.S. shale oil producers have already begun slashing 2016 budgets, with some planning double-digit reductions starting next January, the latest sign low crude prices are forcing a radical adjustment in the industry.

Russia is overhauling its approach to crafting the budget next year to safeguard reserves, highlighting the challenges it faces in steering the recession-hit economy through a downturn in oil prices.