Although Turkey has a lack of energy reserves itself, it is a good transit state and can bring benefit to both itself and the EU through the use of alternative pipelines in different regions. Like Russia, Turkey has both problematic and good relations with the European Union, but unlike Russia it wants to be the part of Euro-Atlantic Security Community.

U.S. Rig Count is up 374 rigs from last year's count of 450, with oil rigs up 300, gas rigs up 72, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is up 106 rigs from last year's count of 49, with oil rigs up 44, gas rigs up 62, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $52.70 per barrel at 0513 GMT, down 26 cents from their last close. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents at $50.17 a barrel.

Natural gas futures for April delivery traded down by about 1% in advance of the EIA's report, at around $3.20 per million BTUs, and traded at $3.19 shortly after the data release. Natural gas closed at $3.23 per million BTUs on Wednesday, the highest closing price in the past week. The 52-week range for natural gas is $2.56 to $3.65. One year ago the price for a million BTUs was around $2.63.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, profit attributable to our shareholders was 46.6 bln RUB, down 15.0% quarter-on-quarter. For the full year 2016, profit decreased by 29.0% and amounted to 206.8 bln RUB.

A group of 44 U.S. onshore-focused oil producers issued a record amount of equity in 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2016, capital expenditure for these companies was $4.9 billion (72%) higher than in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, rose 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.62 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.71 a barrel.

Barclays Commodities Research said its analysts still believe oil prices could rise to $60/bbl in the second quarter assuming inventory draws and the OPEC production cut remains in place. “However, this would likely be temporary, and we forecast prices in the mid $50s/bbl in the second half 2017,” Barclays said.

U.S. Rig Count is up 345 rigs from last year's count of 464, with oil rigs up 280, gas rigs up 63, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is up 130 rigs from last year's count of 55, with oil rigs up 59 and gas rigs up 70, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.

Total petroleum deliveries moved up by 1.2 percent from the prior year to nearly 19.3 million barrels per day in January 2017. These were the highest January deliveries in nine years, since 2008.

Saudi Arabia faces a difficult balancing act as it tries to work down excess global crude stocks while protecting relationships with important refining customers in the United States and Asia.

PETROBRAS - Net income of R$ 2,510 million in 4Q16, compared to a loss of R$ 16,458 million in 3Q-2016

Benchmark Brent crude was down 82 cents at $50.14 per barrel at 0936 GMT (5:36 a.m. ET), after dropping to $50.05, its lowest level since OPEC announced on Nov. 30 its plan for cuts. The deal with non-OPEC states was reached in December. U.S. light crude was down 70 cents at $47.54 a barrel, also slipping toward a three-month low.

The NYMEX April natural gas contract continued to march higher Tuesday, climbing 5.2 cents to settle at $3.093/MMBtu on a tightening supply-demand balance characterized by strong LNG feedgas deliveries, March demand above year-ago levels and a 2.8 Bcf/d year-on-year dip in production.

The crude oil contract for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 56¢ on Mar. 20 to $48.22/bbl. The May contract fell by 40¢ to $48.91/bbl. The Brent crude contract for May on London’s ICE decreased 14¢ to $51.62/bbl. The June contract dropped 16¢ to $51.79/bbl. The gas oil contract settled at 458.50/tonne on Mar. 20, up $1.75. The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Mar. 20 was $49.18/bbl, down 18¢.