U.S. Rig Count is unchanged from last week at 790, Canada Rig Count is up 10 rig from last week at 257

Brent rose 24 cents, or 0.4%, to $55.17 a barrel, WTI were up 15 cents, or 0.3%, at $51.10 a barrel,

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak discussed bilateral energy cooperation with the US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, on Thursday, according to an energy ministry statement.

The Russian delay is sure to frustrate OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, which had called for the collective to immediately implement deeper cuts of 500,000 b/d or more amid the sell-off in crude prices.

The US was prepared to sanction Rosneft if it continued to trade crude oil and fuel with PDVSA, but analysts said those sanctions have yet to be imposed because of the expected impact they may have on the global oil market.

The EU has agreed to sanctions against two officials from Turkey’s state petroleum company.

The coal power industry acknowledges that to play a stable role in future power markets, it needs to modernize, and perhaps even overhaul its long-held status as a “conventional generator

Mr Grossi said many countries were expanding or introducing nuclear power as part of their energy mix despite the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan almost a decade ago and highlighted its role in fighting climate change.

But the agency paints a deeply troubling picture for the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon pollution dipping briefly this decade, increasing in the 2030s, and falling only 4% overall by 2050,

"New targeted credit lines will support climate action by companies in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain, improve access to finance by energy, tourism and education companies in Serbia, help agriculture firms in Romania to expand and encourage circular economy investment in Spain," the EIB said in a statement.