Crude oil production from the seven major US onshore producing regions is forecast to rise 127,000 b/d month-over-month in June to average 5.475 million b/d. Gas production from the seven regions is forecast to gain 684 MMcfd month-over-month in June to 51.685 bcfd.

U.S. Rig Count is up 513 rigs from last year's count of 414, with oil rigs up 413, gas rigs up 100, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Canadian Rig Count is up 67 rigs from last year's count of 65, with oil rigs up 45 and gas rigs up 22.

The United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2016 for the fifth straight year despite production declines for both petroleum and natural gas relative to their 2015 levels. The United States has been the world's top producer of natural gas since 2009, when U.S. natural gas production surpassed that of Russia, and it has been the world's top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when its production exceeded Saudi Arabia’s.

China imported 37.2 million tonnes or 8.76 million barrels per day of crude oil last month, up 15 percent from a year earlier and nearly 8 percent from April, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The worldwide rig count for May 2017 was 1,935, up 18 from the 1,917 counted in April 2017, and up 530 from the 1,405 counted in May 2016.

EIA forecasts Brent spot prices to average $53/b in 2017 and $56/b in 2018.

"We are willing to sit and talk," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN late on Tuesday. He said his country was "protecting the world from potential terrorists".

As oil prices sag despite OPEC’s renewed efforts to shore up world crude markets, Wall Street banks have more bad news for the producer group: the outlook for next year isn’t great either.

Profit attributable to the owners of PJSC Gazprom for the three months ended March 31, 2017 totaled RUB 333,453 million which is RUB 28,856 million, or 8 % less than for the same period of the prior year.

“Market should play a decisive role in resource allocation and the government role should be better played in order to safeguard national energy security, boost productivity and meet people’s needs,” the reform guideline said.

Brent crude futures were trading down 19 cents at $51.96 per barrel at 0857 GMT. The contract ended the previous week down nearly 3 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were also down 19 cents at $49.61 per barrel.

While most big oil companies foresee a day when the world will need less crude, timing when that peak in oil demand will materialize is one of the hottest flashpoints for controversy within the industry. It’s tough to predict because changes to oil demand will hinge on future disruptive technologies, such as batteries in electric cars that will allow drivers to travel for hundreds of miles on a single charge.

U.S. Rig Count is up 504 rigs from last year's count of 404, with oil rigs up 406, gas rigs up 98, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Canadian Rig Count is up 50 rigs from last year's count of 43, with oil rigs up 26, gas rigs up 25, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0.

Saudi Aramco today signed agreements with major U.S. companies which will pave way for the company to enhance its business synergy with the U.S. as well as attracting investments from its U.S. counterparts to the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia will go into the meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Vienna on May 25 determined to maximize its oil revenue through high prices, even if it must make large production cuts in return.