“We are continuing to invest and strengthen our core oil and gas business across the value chain.”

International benchmark Brent crude futures were up 33 cents by 0900 GMT at $56.56 a barrel, their highest since early March. If the day's gains hold, it will be the longest winning streak for Brent since February 2012. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 26 cents at $53.66 a barrel, on track for a seventh straight session of gains.

North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $52 per barrel (b) in March, $3/b lower than the February average. EIA forecasts Brent prices to average $54/b in 2017 and $57/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average $2/b less than Brent prices in both 2017 and 2018.

For 2017, Henry Hub prices are projected to average $3.10/MMBtu, 7 cents above what was indicated in March. The forecast for 2018 stayed steady at $3.45/MMBtu.

Lower hydrocarbon prices have adversely impacted macroeconomic performance. Growth has slowed despite still resilient non-hydrocarbon activity. Real GDP growth of 2.7 percent is estimated for 2016. Inflation remained low despite subsidy cuts, averaging about 2.7 percent in 2016.

API announced today that estimated total wells drilled and completed in the first quarter of 2017 saw an increase of 35 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016. This is a drastic improvement from 2016 levels which saw a 59 percent decrease in total wells drilled and completed from the previous year.

Ukraine has been urged to finalise gas sector reforms by Janez Kopac, director of Energy Community that regroups EU and non-EU states in Europe.

China's apparent oil demand rose 5.3% year on year in the first two months of 2017 to 11.65 million b/d on the back of robust economic growth, holiday transportation demand and efforts to build stocks ahead of the refinery maintenance season that started in March.

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.

Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS), Japan's JERA and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) [SASACY.UL] - whose joint liquefied natural gas volumes account for a third of global LNG trade - are attempting to cement a shift in power from producers to importers amid a supply glut that is expected to persist into the early-2020s.

A government panel said in a report in April 2015 that Hazira LNG will look to expand the capacity of its LNG terminal in the western state of Gujarat by 50% to 7.5 MMtpy in the fiscal year to March 2017.

"This is a big event," Putin said. "If we keep moving at this pace, which I must say is rather impressive even to me...then Russia not only can but will become the largest LNG producer in the world."

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.

Russian state gas exporter Gazprom, which supplies around a third of the EU's gas, with much coming via Ukraine, is keen for Nord Stream 2 to be built by 2019, when it must renegotiate gas transit fees with Kiev.

Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of LNG, pledged almost $6.2bn worth of investment in Britain on Monday in a show of support, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May begins the formal process of negotiating a separation settlement with the European Union.