Oilfield services provider Weatherford International Plc, burdened by a heavy debt load and years of losses, said on Friday it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

BHGE - U.S. Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last week to 988, with oil rigs down 2 to 805, gas rigs unchanged at 183, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0. Canada Rig Count is up 2 rigs from last week to 63, with oil rigs up 5 to 22 and gas rigs down 3 to 41.

Brent crude oil futures were at $69.94 per barrel, 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, above their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.56 per barrel at 0057 GMT on Wednesday, 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, above their last settlement.

ситуация на нефтепроводе “Дружба” не повлияла на объемы добычи и экспорта нефти Россией, заверил Александр Новак. По его словам, завершение всех мероприятий по ликвидации последствий загрязнения нефти на нефтепроводе “Дружба” ожидается во второй половине мая. Чтобы не допустить повторение подобных случаев в будущем, Минэнерго России были подготовлены соответствующие предложения по корректировке нормативно-правовой базы, добавил Александр Новак.

UkrTransNafta said checks on oil coming from Russia via Belarus indicated no contamination and that the crude complied with its normal quality standards.

Brent spot prices will average $70/b in 2019 and $67/b in 2020, compared with an average of $71/b in 2018.

Andriy Kobolev, head of state energy company Naftogaz Ukrayiny, said Ukraine will accumulate 20 Bcm of gas ahead of next winter, up from the 17 Bcm it usually has in underground storage facilities for the start of the heating season.

Investors with a long-term horizons could give a look to Energy Industry. According a Value Line Report on Petroleum Industry, Oil Price above $50 a barrel provide some assurance that existing dividend will be maintained.

Iraq is close to signing a $53 billion, 30-year energy agreement with Exxon Mobil and PetroChina,

After nearly two decades of strong annual growth, renewables around the world added as much net capacity in 2018 as they did in 2017, an unexpected flattening of growth trends that raises concerns about meeting long-term climate goals.