SHANA - Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said Tehran preferred "reasonable" price for crude oil in a bid to avoid market instability.

SHANA - The CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said the country’s crude oil export stood at average 2.170 million barrels per day (mb/d) over the course of the previous Iranian calendar year of 1396 which ended on March 20.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 31 cents at $73.44 a barrel by 0900 GMT, after falling nearly 3 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in two weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 50 cents to $67.75 per barrel.

PLATTS - On Wednesday the Central Dispatching Unit said Russia produced 44.878 million mt of liquids in April. This is equivalent to around 10.965 million b/d, using Platts conversion rate of 7.33 barrels per metric ton. This indicates Russia's compliance was 94%, at 282,000 b/d below the October 2016 level of 11.247 million b/d.

BLOOMBERG - The IMF bolstered its estimate for the oil price the kingdom needs to balance the national budget this year to $88 a barrel, 26 percent more than an assessment made in October.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 31 cents at $73.44 a barrel by 0900 GMT, after falling nearly 3 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in two weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 50 cents to $67.75 per barrel.

REUTERS - Saudi Arabia has projected a budget deficit of 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018, or 7.3 percent of GDP, down from 230 billion riyals last year. It plans to balance the budget by 2023.

PLATTS - Japanese imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in March rose 3.4% month on month to an average of 1.29 million b/d, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Friday showed.

PLATTS - Vietnam is estimated to have produced 1.01 million mt (246,777 b/d) of crude oil in April, down 11.8% from the same month last year, according to data released Sunday by the General Statistics Office.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark, had dipped 50 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $74.14 a barrel by 0633 GMT. Prices climbed as high as $75.47 last week, levels not seen since November, 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $67.82 a barrel, down 28 cents, or about 0.4 percent, from their last settlement.

REUTERS - Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $74.47 a barrel by 0644 GMT, after rising 1 percent on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $68 a barrel. The contract gained 0.2 percent the previous session.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Александр Новак, говоря о перспективах соглашения о балансировке рынка, отметил, что участники рассматривают несколько вариантов дальнейшего сотрудничества. «Главная задача – не создать условия для дисбаланса на рынке», - заключил Министр.

EIA - As Asia-Pacific oil demand continues to grow, some market participants believe the region needs an oil price benchmark based on local supply and demand conditions. Last month marked the beginning of trading for the new Shanghai crude oil futures contract in China. For the Shanghai contract to become an accepted regional benchmark, it will have to attract a wide variety of market participants, and its usage for price discovery must be established.

Александр Новак, говоря о перспективах соглашения о балансировке рынка, отметил, что участники рассматривают несколько вариантов дальнейшего сотрудничества. «Главная задача – не создать условия для дисбаланса на рынке», - заключил Министр.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.89 per barrel at 0455 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close but around $1.60 below the November-2014 high of $75.47 a barrel reached the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were flat at $67.7 63 per barrel, but off the late-2014 highs of $69.56 a barrel marked earlier in April.