BAKER HUGHES A GE - U.S. Rig Count is up 13 rigs from last week to 1,045, with oil rigs up 10 to 844, gas rigs up 3 to 199, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2. Canada Rig Count is down 7 rigs from last week to 79, with oil rigs down 5 to 32 and gas rigs down 2 to 47.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures were up 29 cents at $77.50 a barrel by 0933 GMT, having gained 3.5 percent so far this week, the largest weekly increase since mid-April. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 42 cents at $71.56 a barrel.

EIA - Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $72 per barrel (b) in April, an increase of $6/b from the March level and the first time monthly Brent crude oil prices have averaged more than $70/b since November 2014. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices will average $71/b in 2018 and $66/b in 2019, which are $7/b and $3/b higher, respectively, than in the April

BLOOMBERG - India sees a greater probability of global crude oil prices remaining high for a longer period, a scenario that threatens to dent growth and fan inflation in Asia’s third-largest economy.

PLATTS - Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih said Wednesday that the country would work closely with OPEC as well as non-OPEC producers to mitigate the impact of any shortages that might arise following the US' decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

REUTERS - U.S. crude futures last traded at $70.11 per barrel, down 0.9 percent from Monday’s settlement price. Global benchmark Brent crude futures stood at $75.64 per barrel, down 0.7 percent, having risen as high as $76.34 on Monday.

BLOOMBERG - The world’s biggest oil buyer imported 9.64 million barrels a day in April, according to data released by Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Tuesday. That’s about 4 percent higher than March and beat a previous record of 9.61 million barrels per day reached in January. For the month of April, total purchases were 39.46 million metric tons.

BAKER HUGHES A GE - The worldwide rig count for April 2018 was 2,087, down 92 from the 2,179 counted in March 2018, and up 170 from the 1,917 counted in April 2017.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures were at $75.71 per barrel, up 84 cents, or 1.12 percent from their last close at 0416 GMT after climbing to $75.89 a barrel earlier in the session, its highest since November 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.95 percent to trade at $70.39 per barrel, up 66 cents from their last settlement.

OGJ - “I frankly don’t see it as a strategy,” Mitrova admitted. “When we look at Russia’s economy, energy is an important part. Hydrocarbons still represent the biggest share of its federal budget, but their share has dropped from 50% to 40%. There is no consistent long-term plan, and many decisions are driven by short-term adaptations. There is no clear consensus.”