REUTERS - International Brent crude oil futures were at $61.06 per barrel at 0755 GMT, 22 cents, or 0.4 percent, above their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $53.86 per barrel, up 7 cents from their last settlement.

PLATTS- Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday that he does not currently see a need to take any extra measures or call for an extra meeting by the OPEC/non-OPEC group over the crisis in Venezuela. "We haven't discussed the situation with [Saudi energy] minister Falih, or other ministers," Novak told reporters. "The markets are currently calm ... and the volatility is insignificant. So there is no need for the extra meeting of OPEC+, at least the Russian side thinks so."

PLATTS- US refiners cannot rely on Mexico to replace Venezuelan heavy oil imports as the country is battling to reverse its declining production and Pemex's oil is sold under contractual basis, analysts and others say.

U.S. EIA - U.S. crude oil production rose to a new high of 11.9 million barrels per day in November, up 345,000 bpd from the previous month,

OGJ - US crude oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 25, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 900,000 bbl from the previous week, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.

BLOOMBERG - Saudi Arabia expects to reduce oil output once again in February and pump for six months at levels “well below” the production limit it accepted under OPEC’s oil-cuts accord, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.43 per barrel at 0644 GMT, up 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, above their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $61.53 per barrel.

OGJ - “The sanctions will affect refinery margins in the US. Now they will have to import heavy crude from the Middle East at a premium. US refiners will be amongst the biggest losers, as we have noted earlier,” Rodriguez-Masiu said.

PLATTS - The Trump administration announced Monday that it will sanction PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, a move that could suspend roughly 500,000 b/d of Venezuelan crude exports to US Gulf Coast refineries and shut down US exports of diluents to the South American nation.

BLOOMBERG - Investment in oil and gas production collapsed by about $350 billion, or more than 40 percent, from 2014 to 2016 -- the sharpest contraction since the 1980s -- after crude fell from over $120 a barrel to less than $30, according to the International Energy Agency. The number of new projects approved in 2017 dwindled to the lowest in 70 years, the Paris-based agency said.