BG Group PLC’s shareholders on Thursday signed off on Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s roughly $50 billion takeover bid for the company. [WSJ]

The Senate has started debating its first comprehensive energy legislation since the George W. Bush administration, a bipartisan measure meant to update the nation’s power grid and oil and gas transportation systems. [The NY Times]

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had proposed oil production cuts of up to 5 percent by each country. [CNBC/Reuters]