OPEC members (predominately Saudi Arabia) have traditionally been the only countries with the ability to ramp-up production through spare oil supply capacity. Nowadays, however, following the shale revolution, the US onshore market is widely being touted as the industry’s new ‘swing’ producer.

U.S. companies remain nervous about oil prices. Spending has been cut as prices fail to rebound significantly, and further price drops could quickly lead to more shrinkage in the rig count.

Currently the project is moving forward, as Moscow and Ankara have signed the MoU, approved the new pipeline route and agreed upon the 10.25% gas discount for Turkey. On the EU side there are many questions, including the one on infrastructure that would have to be in place to transport gas from the Turkish-Greek border, envisaged as the new pipeline’s gas delivery point.

Russian gas imports into Western Europe could rise to a record this summer as utilities increase purchases from Russia, taking advantage of lower prices for oil-indexed gas contracts, analysts said.

European gas prices started the summer season at a five-year low, signaling easing concern about disruptions to Russian supply and below-average reserves.

India cut the price of locally-produced natural gas by 8% for six months beginning Wednesday as global energy costs slump.

Arctic exploration is worth the risk. Exxon has decades of experience working in that part of the world, including successful projects in Russia — but also a catastrophic oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in 1989.

Ukraine is facing a huge energy-security challenge. It is dependent on Russia supplying most of its natural gas as well as uranium fuel for its nuclear reactors.

The Russian government is requesting that state-owned gas giant Gazprom provide discounted gas to the struggling government in Ukraine.

Turkey and Greece are back under the spotlight as Russia’s Gazprom restated the importance of Turkish Stream for Greece’s energy security, while the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders openly referred to the opportunity of resuming negotiations about the future of the Mediterranean island.

Based on crude oil market assessments in the Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA estimates that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), excluding Iran, will earn about $700 billion in revenue from net oil exports in 2014, a 14% decrease from 2013 earnings and the lowest earnings for the group since 2010.

With Saudi Arabia reluctant to cut production, crude oil prices over the next decade depend greatly on producers’ costs, says a veteran observer of oil markets and the Middle East.

The prospect of a return to $100-a-barrel crude is tempting some to bet against the bearish consensus in the oil market.

Despite a 50 percent slide in crude prices since last summer, U.S. shale oil producers are enjoying remarkably easy access to capital markets and this will allow them to avoid getting squeezed when banks reset their loans in April.

In a keynote speech to attendees of the 2015 Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition, Richard B. Spears, an oil field services market researcher, says the worst may be yet to come for that market, but a partial recovery also could come sooner than expected.