The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Brent spot prices will average $67/b in the second half of 2019 and remain at that level in 2020. EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices will average $62/b in the second half of 2019 and $63/b in 2020.

Chevron Phillips Chemical, a joint venture of Chevron and Phillips 66, will be the majority owner with a 51 percent share, with Qatar Petroleum owning 49 percent of the project. The companies expect a final investment decision no later than 2021 for the project, which has a target of starting in 2024.

Brent crude rose 15 cents to $64.26 a barrel , U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 9 cents to $57.75.

Industry sources said Russian oil output fell to 10.79 million barrels per day (bpd) in early July, lower than the level agreed under a deal on curbing supply reached with OPEC and other producers.

Saudi Aramco has awarded 34 contracts with a total value of $18 billion for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Marjan and Berri increment programs. The company plans to boost the Marjan and Berri fields’ production capacity by 550,000 barrels per day of Arabian Crude Oil and 2.5 billion standard cubic feet a day (BSCFD) of gas.

Brent crude futures were up 34 cents by 0908 GMT at $64.57. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 18 cents at $57.69 a barrel.

The 14-member OPEC pumped 29.60 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the survey showed, down 170,000 bpd from May’s revised figure and the lowest OPEC total since 2014.

OPEC+, as the enlarged group has come to be known, also sealed a long-term cooperation agreement “the Charter of Cooperation,” which aims to bring the 24 oil producing countries together to promote stability to a market that has been characterized by intense volatility in recent months.

“Iran is the biggest guarantor of energy stability and security in the region while the US is the biggest de-stabilizing force in the world’s energy sector.”

Iran said on Sunday it will shortly boost its uranium enrichment above a cap set by a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, prompting a warning ‘to be careful’ from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pressured Tehran to renegotiate the pact.

Equinor ASA (OSE: EQNR, NYSE EQNR) has agreed with Lundin Petroleum AB to divest a 16 percent shareholding in Lundin Petroleum for a direct interest of 2.6 percent in the Johan Sverdrup field and a cash consideration of around USD 650 million.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down $0.79 at $56.55 per barrel by 0754 GMT. There was no settlement price on Thursday because of the Independence Day holiday in the United States. Front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $0.23 at $63.07 per barrel. Both benchmarks were set for their biggest weekly falls in five weeks.

June oil imports from Russia to China were up 31.7% on month from 1.76 million mt in May, hitting a five-month high, and also 124% higher from a year earlier.

British Royal Marines seized a giant Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that drew Tehran’s fury and could escalate its confrontation with the West.

The United States has targeted Cuba’s state-run company Cubametales as part of its Venezuela-related sanctions, according to a notice posted on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website on Wednesday.