"Over the course of the past year, Iran and Venezuela had very close stances and we were supportive of each other in many instances," said the Iranian official.

China is committed to having talks with the parties directly involved, and in accordance with historical facts and international law to peacefully resolve the issue, and that position will not change, Wang said.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $44.3 billion in December, down $1.5 billion from $45.7 billion in November, revised. December exports were $190.7 billion, $5.0 billion more than November exports. December imports were $235.0 billion, $3.6 billion more than November imports.

India’s leading state owned oil and gas firm Indian Oil posted a net profit of rupees 153.86bn ($2.29bn) for the nine months ended December 31, 2016, compared with a net profit of rupees 92.36bn during the corresponding period of the previous year, a jump of almost 66%.

Indian ONGC reported profit of rupees 43.52bn ($0.65bn) in 3Q of fiscal 2016-17 as against rupees 14.66bn in the corresponding quarter of last year, a rise of 197%, the company said last week citing higher gross oil realisation as the primary reason.

International Brent crude futures were trading at $56.96 per barrel at 0750 GMT, up 15 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18 cents at $54.01 a barrel.

The European Union, although reliant on Russian oil and gas, says it will never recognize Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and expects the Kremlin to abide by the Minsk peace deal brokered for eastern Ukraine.

For the full year of 2016 the RC loss was $999 million, compared with a loss of $5,162 million for the full year of 2015. Both periods were impacted by charges associated with the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill following the settlement of federal, state and local government claims in 2015 and additional provisions this year, when a reliable estimate for the remaining material liabilities was determined. After adjusting for a net charge for non-operating items of $2,828 million and net unfavourable fair value accounting effects of $756 million (both on a post-tax basis), underlying RC profit for the full year was $2,585 million, compared with $5,905 million for the same period in 2015, predominantly due to lower results in the Upstream and Downstream segments.

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) reported a fourth quarter 2016 net loss of $714 million, or $1.90 per share. Excluding other items, net loss for the quarter was $57 million, or $0.15 per share. Other items totaled $706 million, pretax, and were primarily associated with inventory charges, facility closures, and severance.

The worldwide rig count for January 2017 was 1,918, up 146 from the 1,772 counted in December 2016, and up 27 from the 1,891 counted in January 2016.

International Brent crude futures were trading at $56.96 per barrel at 0750 GMT, up 15 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18 cents at $54.01 a barrel.

Oil and gas extraction jobs increased by 100 to 177,400 in January, while support services jobs increased by 600 to 195,200 in December, its second increase in a row, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.

Japan is putting together a package of plans for Japanese companies to invest in infrastructure and job-creation projects in the United States. Japan is the world's biggest buyer of the gas cooled to liquid form for transport on ships and takes in nearly a third of global shipments.

With India's oil demand showing no signs of slowing, which in turn is attracting a lot of multinational firms to set up shop in the country, the government is stepping up efforts to ensure that state-run oil companies are on equal footing to compete, not just with domestic private players but also with global oil firms.

U.S. Rig Count is up 158 rigs from last year's count of 571, with oil rigs up 116, gas rigs up 41, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 101 rigs from last year's count of 242, with oil rigs up 66 and gas rigs up 35.