PLATTS - India's state-run refiners and Saudi Aramco signed an agreement Wednesday to jointly build an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex on India's west coast at a cost of $44 billion, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said.

EIA - Iran holds the world’s fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves. Despite its abundant reserves, Iran’s crude oil production has undergone years of underinvestment and effects of international sanctions. Natural gas production has expanded, the growth has been lower than expected. Since the lifting of sanctions that targeted Iran’s oil sector, oil production has reached more than 3.8 million barrels per day in 2017.

GAZPROM - from January 1 through April 8, 2018, Gazprom had supplied Austria with 3.7 billion cubic meters of gas, a rise of 77.2 per cent compared to the same period of last year.

INDIA OIL MINISTER: OIL PRICE $80 IS 'TOO HIGH'

REUTERS - U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 were at $62.31 a barrel at 0643 GMT, up 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $67.42 per barrel, up 31 cents, or 0.5 percent.

PLATTS - Russia is willing to work with the OPEC coalition indefinitely to regulate global oil supplies and has advocated the creation of a new global body to monitor crude markets, the country's energy minister said.

REUTERS - On Tuesday, Washington unveiled some $50 billion worth of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports and on Thursday Trump upped the ante, directing U.S. trade officials to identify tariffs on another $100 billion of Chinese imports. He said this was “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against the earlier U.S. trade action. China responded by saying it was fully prepared to respond with a “fierce counter strike” if the United States followed through on the new threat.

PLATTS - OPEC oil output in March fell to 32.14 million b/d, its lowest level in 11 months, led by declines in seven out of the 14 member countries,

U.S.DT - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, today designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank.

WNN - The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and its joint venture subsidiaries, Nawah Energy Company (Nawah) and Barakah One Company (BOC), have signed three agreements with Korean companies. Enec and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) in October 2016 signed a joint venture agreement that made Kepco a minority shareholder in Nawah and BOC.

REUTERS - Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund should be allowed to invest in unlisted renewable projects such as solar parks and wind farms, the ruling Conservative party voted on Saturday.

WNN - Japan's Toshiba announced today that it has completed the sale to Brookfield of its shareholding in Toshiba Nuclear Energy Holdings (US) Inc - the indirect holding company of Westinghouse Electric Company. The sale is independent of Brookfield's acquisition of Westinghouse and some of its affiliates.

BAKER HUGHES A GE - U.S. Rig Count is up 10 rigs from last week to 1,003, with oil rigs up 11 to 808, gas rigs unchanged at 194, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. Canada Rig Count is down 23 rigs from last week to 111, with oil rigs down 23 rigs to 48 and gas rigs unchanged at 63.

REUTERS - Brent crude LCOc1 for June delivery briefly traded flat at 1322 GMT at $68.33 per barrel after falling as much as 66 cents earlier. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery CLc1 erased some of its previous losses, but was still down 15 cents at $63.39 a barrel.

EIA - Annual average U.S. crude oil production reached 9.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2017, an increase of 464,000 b/d from 2016 levels after declining by 551,000 b/d in 2016. In November 2017, monthly U.S. crude oil production reached 10.07 million b/d, the highest monthly level of crude oil production in U.S. history.