U.S. Rig Count is up 504 rigs from last year's count of 404, with oil rigs up 406, gas rigs up 98, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Canadian Rig Count is up 50 rigs from last year's count of 43, with oil rigs up 26, gas rigs up 25, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0.

OPEC Member Countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan, taking into account the decision reached by OPEC at the 172nd Meeting of the Conference, recognized the need for continuing cooperation among oil exporting countries in order to achieve a lasting stability in the oil market.

No one envies the Saudi Arabians now. Yes, the Brent price has rebounded from its of 2015-16 lows to stabilise over $50. At the Opec meeting in Vienna this week the delegates agreed to extend production curbs for another nine months.

Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies meet in Vienna to decide whether to prolong their agreement. Major producers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq favor an extension for nine months and, while other options will be discussed, consensus is building around an agreement that runs through next March.

A balanced global crude oil market likely will remain elusive into 2018 because so many underlying dynamics have changed in the last 10 years. The outlook is worse for LNG because markets are saturated, prices are depressed, and economics are unfavorable.

К 17.45 МСК фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent поднялись на 0,37 процента до $54,35 за баррель. Фьючерсы на американскую нефть WTI к этому времени торговались у отметки $51,60 за баррель, на 0,25 процента выше предыдущего закрытия.

«Принято решение рекомендовать Конференции министров стран ОПЕК и не входящих в ОПЕК государств, которая соберется 25 мая в Вене, продлить срок действия договоренностей о корректировке объемов нефтедобычи на девять месяцев с 1 июля 2017 года», - сообщил Александр Новак.

Russia itself is now slightly overcomplying with its commitment to cut 300,000 b/d of oil production from October levels, having achieved a 310,000 b/d cut since the beginning of the month.

As a major buyer of OPEC crude, India is hoping to leverage its ties with the oil producer bloc to gain "preferential treatment," the country's petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan told.

К 9.41 МСК фьючерсы на нефть сорта Brent опустились на 0,74 процента до $53,47 за баррель. Фьючерсы на американскую нефть WTI к этому времени торговались у отметки $50,72 за баррель, на 0,8 процента ниже предыдущего закрытия.