Good evening. Here’s all the news you need to know.

Falcon Oil & Gas, the Dublin-headquartered unconventional exploration firm, has reported a near 64% slashing of first-half losses.

Shareholders in Irish exploration firm, Petroneft Resources, illustrated their support for the company’s management yesterday by overwhelmingly voting in favour of the firm’s recent farm-out agreement and unanimously opposing a hostile takeover approach from another investor.

Irish exploration company Petroneft Resources is close to concluding a farm-out of one of its main assets in Russia, with the transaction expected to be finalised before the end of March.

Petroneft Resources — the Irish explorer with a specific operational focus on Siberia — is planning to re-commence drilling activity “later this year“, depending on successful outcomes of current debt re-financing talks and farm-out discussions.

Irish exploration firm, Fastnet Oil & Gas is set to drill its maiden well — off the coast of Morocco — at the tail-end of next year.

Petroneft Resources — the Irish exploration company with a focus on the Russian market — has successfully raised $17.25m (€13.3m) via a share placing with institutional and other investors.

Connemara Mining — the AIM-listed mineral exploration firm chaired by businessman John Teeling — has revealed that it recently received an expression of interest in its minority stakeholding in the highly-rated Stonepark zinc and lead discovery in Co Limerick.

Irish exploration company Petroneft Resources has entered talks with interested parties regarding the farm-out of an equity stake in one of its producing licences in the Russian region of Tomsk.

London-based exploration company Europa Oil & Gas has said that it has identified two large, previously unknown, prospects off the west coast of Ireland.

Shares in Irish exploration company Petroneft fell nearly 40% yesterday on the back of the firm reporting a significantly lower than expected production rate.

ANGRY Indian politicians forced parliament to close yesterday and protesters gathered outside a Russian consulate over a Siberian trial calling for one of Hinduism’s holiest books be put on a list of banned literature that includes Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

PROVIDENCE Resources has announced the middle of November as the expected formal start date for its long-anticipated drilling programme off the coast.

PETRONEFT has reported its first pre-tax profit, adding that recent exploration success could boost group reserves by at least 50%.

IRISH exploration company, Petroneft has announced its largest single oil find to date — which could net 30 million barrels of oil in total — via the discovery of a field at one of its existing licences in Russia.

IRISH exploration company, Petroneft is targeting an $8 million (almost €5.6m) boost to its operating profits in 2012 alone, on the back of the widely anticipated reduction in mineral extraction tax (MET) being signed into law in Russia.

CONNEMARA Mining — the Irish AIM-listed zinc explorer — is set to announce a joint venture partnership, with an as yet unnamed company, to further develop its Lough Sheelin asset block, in the coming week.

IRISH exploration company, Petroneft has reported a full-year loss for 2010 of $7.12 million (just under €5m); up on the previous year’s loss of $6.5m.

IRISH oil and gas exploration company, Petroneft, has raised $43 million (€31.2m), via its second successful share placing in a little over 12 months.

Irish exploration company PetroNeft said today it has successfully placed $43m at £0.43 (pence) per share in a placing which was ‘substantially’ oversubscribed.

IRISH oil and gas exploration company Petroneft, which owns two licences in the Russian state of Tomsk has announced the start of year-round oil production in the region marginally ahead of schedule.

Petroneft has achieved their target of first oil production in recent days at their license in the Russian Federation.

PETRONEFT — the Irish oil and gas exploration company with a focus on the Russian market — has brought forward to August the expected date for the commencement of production from its two licences in the region.

Jeonbuk Motors striker Lee Dong-gook has been included in South Korea’s 23-man World Cup squad by coach Huh Jung-moo with Lee Keun-ho, Shin Hyung-min and Koo Ja-cheol missing out.

IRISH oil and gas exploration company Petroneft Resources is actively looking at potential acquisition opportunities in its core geographical market of Siberia in central Russia.

Irish-based energy company PetroNeft Resources plc has today issued an update on its operations in Russia.

Dublin: Irish exploration company Petroneft has purchased a second licence in the Tomsk region in Western Siberia for $1.4m. The block has existing infrastructure and lies to the west of the Ob River.

Dinamo Moscow missed a golden opportunity to go top of the Premier Liga as they were held 1-1 at struggling FC Khimki.

IRISH oil and exploration company, Petroneft has posted a retained loss for the first six months of this year of $532,626 (€422,149).

Russian President Vladimir Putin today said that the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, should continue to play a central role in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue and he called on Iran to fulfill its international obligations.

A five-storey residential building undergoing major repairs collapsed today in St Petersburg, sending debris into the street. No one was hurt.

People in Russia are being warned to beware of lumps of snow and icicles falling from roofs after a nine-year-old boy was killed.