With little fanfare, Russia's president Putin told the media Friday that Moscow and Beijing have agreed many of the aspects of a second gas pipeline to China, the so-called western route.

Russian state-owned Rosneft, the most productive oil company in the world, is buying the land drilling operations of Weatherford International in Russia and Venezuela in a deal that’s viewed as a benefit both sides.

The events with the most market moving potential, should they offer any surprises, are:

Several of the largest oil companies in the world are doubling down in Russia despite moves by the West to isolate Russia and its economy. ExxonMobil and BP separately signed agreements with Rosneft – Russia’s state-owned oil company – to extend and deepen their relationships for energy exploration.

We have previously profiled the "holy grail" gas deal between Russia and China on several occasions, and with its announcement scheduled for next week (barring some unmitigated disaster) during Putin's first visit to China since Xi's appointment as president last March...

The United States is considering sanctions against Russia’s energy industry in its effort to rein in Moscow’s evident designs on Ukraine.