It was the sixth time Russia has moved to the top spot as China's crude supplier, since capturing that spot for the first time in May, 2015.

Khelil expects prices to increase to $70 to $80 a barrel or more after oil majors abandoned or shelved projects. Still, that rebound risks reviving U.S. shale drillers, said the two-time president of OPEC.

Brent LCOc1 fell 1.3 percent, or 64 cents, to $48.95 a barrel by 1031 GMT, retreating from the previous session's $50.51 peak, its highest since early November. U.S. crude CLc1 dropped 45 cents to $49.03 a barrel after touching $50.21 on Thursday, its highest since early October.

Futures rose as much as 1.4 percent in New York after climbing 1.1 percent Tuesday. Inventories dropped by 5.14 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Data from the Energy Information Administration Wednesday is forecast to show supplies fell. Canadian oil-sands producers that cut more than 1 million barrels a day from the market because of the threat of wildfires are starting the process of resuming operations.

With most companies indicating continued reductions in E&D budgets absent a meaningful increase in crude oil prices, proved reserves additions will likely continue to decline.

US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased 4.2 million bbl during the week ended May 20 compared with the previous week’s average

China’s Yantai Xinchao Industry Co. is pursuing U.S. oil acquisitions worth as much as $1 billion in the Permian Basin, and it won’t be satisfied letting others run the show, according to the head of the company’s U.S. subsidiary.

Russia plans to increase oil production to 540 million tonnes (10.8 million bpd) or more this year, from 534 million tonnes in 2015.

The parties discussed the implementation of a joint project, the Amatitlán Block which LUKOIL entered on the terms of a service contract with a 50% interest in July 2015, and the company’s participation in forthcoming bidding rounds. This resolution was positively received by the Government of Mexico.

Pertamina seeks a 51% stake in the venture to build a crude-oil refinery and petrochemical plants in eastern Java, with Russian state-controlled oil major Rosneft taking the remainder, Pertamina executives and Indonesian officials said. The refinery will be capable of processing 320,000 barrels of oil a day, and the complex will require $13 billion to $14 billion in investment, they said.