"If both countries agree on the discount, progress can be achieved on the Turkish Stream Natural Gas Pipeline project, which both countries will benefit from economically"

During the 3-month period ending Sept. 30, an overall total of 51 oil and gas deals took place, accounting for $91.2 billion, which was higher than the 47 deals worth $38.8 billion that occurred in the previous quarter, but still down from the 83 deals worth $125.7 billion that occurred in third-quarter 2014.

Norwegian petroleum and other liquids production, which had been declining since 2001, increased in 2014 and will likely continue increasing in 2015. The production growth in 2014 was mainly the result of new fields coming online, but also included a small increase in output from existing fields. Production has continued to grow in the first half of 2015 and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next few years as growth from new fields balances declines from older fields.

Four years ago, the International Energy Agency predicted global demand for the heating and power plant fuel would climb 16% by 2016. Now, it’s projecting 11%, and terminal developers are taking note. Excelerate Energy’s floating terminal in the Gulf of Mexico has been postponed. Inpex delayed the start of an LNG project in Australia by almost a year to the third quarter of 2017.

World economic growth has been revised down to 3.1% for 2015 and to 3.4% for 2016. While OECD growth remains unchanged at 2.0% for 2015 and 2.1% in 2016, major emerging economies are increasingly facing challenges. China’s and India’s growth forecasts have been revised down by 0.1 percentage points to now stand at 6.8% and 6.4% for China and at 7.4% and 7.6% for India in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The demand outlook for next year is looking softer mainly due to recent downgrades to the macroeconomic outlook and expectations that crude oil prices will not see repeats of the heavy losses of 2015.

The probability that the world's biggest economy will enter a recession in the next 12 months jumped to 15 percent, its highest level since October 2013, according to economists surveyed Oct. 2-7 by Bloomberg. The median had held at 10 percent for 13 consecutive months.

“We are not in disarray,” Mr. el-Badri said. “We see some light at the end of the tunnel.” He said he thinks oil markets will regain balance within 18 to 24 months.

Shell is planning for a longer period of low oil prices. But in the longer term, argues Ben van Beurden, there will be no change to fundamental drivers such as rising demand and the need for new supplies. Moreover, the industry should not be blinded by low oil prices. Even more than prices, the transition to a low-carbon energy future will shape its destiny over the coming decades. Carbon pricing systems are crucial in that transition. They encourage the quickest and most efficient ways of reducing emissions widely.

Brent crude oil spot prices increased by $1/b in September to a monthly average of $48/b. Along with increasing volatility in global equity prices and exchange rates, crude oil price volatility increased significantly in August, reflecting uncertainty about potential lower economic and oil demand growth in emerging market countries. Volatility remained high in September, with Brent spot prices increasing from $42/b on August 24 to $50/b on September 3, before falling back into the range of $45/b to $50/b for the rest of the month.

U.S. oil production growth will stop this month and begin to decline early next year due to low oil prices, the former head of oil firm EOG Resources, Mark Papa, said on Tuesday.

Price adjustments in the gas markets caused by a drop in oil quotations hadn’t affected the dominant position of Asia-Pacific as a driver of growing global gas consumption. Following the expert reviews, by 2025 the region’s demand for imported gas might grow 1.5 times from present 280 billion cubic meters to over 400 billion cubic meters a year.

Third-quarter 2015 results could show continued declines in profits, cash flow, and capital expenditure if crude oil prices continue to decline.

U.S. Rig Count is down 4 rigs from last week to 838, with oil rigs down 4 to 640, gas rigs down 1 to 197, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1.

World Oil Demand. In 2015, world oil demand growth is expected to be around 1.46 mb/d after an upward revision of around 84 tb/d, mainly to reflect better-than-expected data from OECD region. In 2016, world oil demand is anticipated to rise by 1.29 mb/d after a downward revision of around 50 tb/d.