After contracting by almost 7 percent during the 2015-16 recession, real GDP grew by only 1.1 percent per year in 2017 and 2018.

Spot Brent crude futures were firmer at $68.82 per barrel, 13 cents, or 0.2%, above their last close. WTI crude futures were at $58.43 per barrel at 0700 GMT, down 20 cents, or 0.3%, from their last settlement.

Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA exported 1.416 million barrels of combined crude and products in May to Cuba's state Cubametales, up from 355,000 barrels in April.

Trust is a central theme, because it is vital to the functioning of any economy and to the success of reforms. Polls across multiple countries show a long-running and deepening decline in trust in institutions and experts. The profound effects of the global financial crisis, increasing inequality, political polarization, and a lack of sincere attention to the needs of the public all seem to have contributed.

"Oilfield services companies will no longer be able to generate the high operating margins they did in 2014," Carin Dehne-Kiley, an analyst at S&P, wrote Friday in a report to investors. "The oilfield services industry has fundamentally changed due to permanent efficiency and productivity gains realized by E&P companies as well as investor sentiment calling for E&P companies to live within cash flow and limit production growth."

BHGE - U.S. Rig Count is down 4 rigs from last week to 983, with oil rigs down 5 to 797, gas rigs up 1 to 186, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0. Canada Rig Count is up 15 rigs from last week to 78, with oil rigs up 16 to 38 and gas rigs down 1 to 40.

Brent crude futures were at $68.48 per barrel at 0654 GMT, up 72 cents, or 1.1%, from their last close, with prices underpinned by OPEC supply cuts and Middle East tensions. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 66 cents, or 1.1%, at $58.57 per barrel.

Although compliance to the cuts had a slow start, OPEC's JMMC noted in a press release following their meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that compliance had hit a record high of 168% in April 2019. Average conformity reached 120% since January 2019.

Russia’s GDP unexpectedly grew just 0.5% in the first quarter, below all 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That compares with a 2.7% increase in the last three months of 2018, which was the highest in more than six years as crude output reached a record 11.45mn barrels a day in December, according to ministry data as Opec+ curbs eased.

The introduction of oxygen energy technologies will allow 3-5 times reduce the price of heat and electricity, which will expand the use of the benefits of electricity to virtually all people on Earth, regardless of their economic condition and their removal from the traditional onnyh energy sources.

Brent crude futures were at $70.36 per barrel, down 63 cents, or 0.9%, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down by 51 cents, or 0.8%, at $60.91 per barrel.

the meeting participants discussed the ongoing exports of Russian gas to Austria, noting that gas exports to the country continue to grow in 2019 and the pace is accelerating. According to preliminary data, gas supplies went up by 20.5 per cent in January-April 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, while the May 1–20 period of this year showed a 44 per cent increase.

The technology of obtaining energy using biogas is simple and cheap. Of course, it also pollutes the environment, but its main problem is the impossibility of generating energy on an industrial scale. This technology is applicable in agriculture on farms, but it is not possible to power a factory, a city or a village from it.

NPD - Preliminary production figures for April 2019 show an average daily production of 1 729 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 24 000 barrels per day compared to March.

Brent crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $71.79 at barrel. WTI crude futures for July delivery were down 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $62.54.