The first global crude supply pact in 15 years has underlined the growing energy alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, as the depth of the two-year oil slump forces co-operation between once unlikely partners.

Rosneft Board of Directors has approved a strategic cooperation agreement with Qatar Investment Authority and Glencore, providing for further cooperation in upstream projects, logistics and global trading.

Eni has agreed a $1.125bn deal to sell a 30 per cent stake in its giant Egyptian gas field Zohr to Rosneft, as the Italian company continues efforts to monetise the recently-discovered field.

U.S. Rig Count is down 85 rigs from last year's count of 709, with oil rigs down 26, gas rigs down 60, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 56 rigs from last year's count of 174, with oil rigs up 44, gas rigs up 11, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.

Brent crude for February delivery LCOc1 was up 12 cents at $54.01 a barrel by 0752 GMT, after rising 1.7 percent on Thursday. The contract hit its highest since July 2015 at $55.33 on Monday. U.S. crude for January delivery CLc1 was up 32 cents at $51.16 a barrel. Both contracts have lost nearly 1 percent so far this week.

The U.S. government is to check if sanctions where violated when Russia this week struck a deal to sell a stake in oil producer Rosneft to a consortium of Qatar's sovereign fund and commodities trader Glencore, the White House said.

OPEC crude oil production for November rose for the sixth straight month, to a record 33.86 million b/d.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has said that total oil exports for November have reached a record high of 4.051 million bpd.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today announced a $19.8 billion capital and exploratory investment program for 2017. Included in the 2017 program are $4.7 billion of planned affiliate expenditures.

North Sea Brent crude was up 25 cents at $53.25 a barrel by 0940 GMT. U.S. light crude was up 20 cents at $49.97 a barrel.