Brent LCOc1 had gained 51 cents to $53.89 a barrel by 1356 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures Clc1 were up 45 cents at $49.54 a barrel.

Nabors Industries Ltd. ("Nabors") (NYSE: NBR), announced that it has acquired Stavanger based Robotic Drilling Systems AS ("RDS"), a provider of automated tubular and tool handling equipment for the onshore and offshore drilling markets. This transaction integrates the highly capable RDS team and product offering with the technology portfolio of Canrig, Nabors rig equipment subsidiary, and strengthens the development of its drilling automation solutions.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, had fallen by almost 1 percent from their last close, or 41 cents, to $52.34 per barrel by 0655 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 crude futures were more stable, at $47.30 barrel, close to their last settlement.

Russian oil output slipped to a year-low of 10.91 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from 10.95 million bpd in July, Energy Ministry data showed on Saturday, as Gazprom Neft suspended offshore Arctic production to carry out maintenance.

Russian natural gas volumes piped via Ukraine to European consumers are up by 23.4 percent so far this year at 61.9 billion cubic metres (bcm), Ukrainian gas transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said.

The figure of around 2.2 million to 2.3 million b/d includes about 300,000 to 400,000 b/d of condensates, which implies that its current crude oil production is at the coveted 1.8 million b/d mark.

In June 2017, for the first time in 15 months, dry natural gas production increased year-to-year from the same month a year ago. The preliminary level for dry natural gas production in June 2017 was 2,188 billion cubic feet (Bcf), or 72.9 Bcf/day. This level was a 1.3 Bcf/day (1.9%) increase from the June 2016 level of 71.6 Bcf/day.

The acquisition of Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) by U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger (SLB.N) has been held up by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying by local news services.

The Trump administration is ready to block a Russian state-owned oil giant from gaining control of critical energy assets in the U.S. owned by Venezuela, senior American officials say, a move that likely would feed tensions between Washington and Moscow.

U.S. Rig Count is up 446 rigs from last year's count of 497, with oil rigs up 352, gas rigs up 95, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 2. Canada Rig Count is up 64 rigs from last year's count of 137, with oil rigs up 25 and gas rigs up 39.

The October light, sweet crude contract on NYMEX fell 13¢ on Aug. 29 to settle at $46.44/bbl while the November contract was up 4¢ to settle at $47/bbl. The NYMEX natural gas price for September gained 3.6¢ to a rounded $2.96/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price was $2.88/MMbtu, down 4¢. The Brent crude contract for October on London’s ICE was up 11¢ to $52/bbl. The November contract gained 24¢ to $51.66/bbl. The September gas oil contract was $484.50/tonne on Aug. 29, up 25¢. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes on Aug. 29 was $49.51/bbl, down 35¢.

Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia are pushing to extend their deal to limit crude oil production for another three months, which would leave the output deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in place through the end of June, people familiar with the matter said.

Three Libyan oilfields have gone offline and output has declined by 360,000 bopd after militia violence, the country’s NOC announced.

Last week, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) made its way to the somewhat unlikely market of Lithuania. The former Soviet republic traditionally bought its gas from Russian state company Gazprom; this was its first shipment from the United States. For President Donald Trump, that must have been a gratifying sign of the success of his administration’s nascent energy diplomacy.

Norway’s $970-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, should allocate a bigger share of its investments to renewable energy to boost returns, a U.S. energy policy think-tank said