Even so, OPEC said it would tread cautiously. The organization forecast that 2019 oil consumption will rise 1.14 million b/d year-on-year, a downward revision of 70,000 b/d from last month's report, as "significant downside risks from escalating trade disputes spilling over to global demand growth remain."

Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company; its upstream operations are based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and it also operates a global downstream business. Headquartered in the city of Dhahran, the company operates in eight locations within the Kingdom and 20 locations overseas, and employs around 76,000 people.

Norway’s economic momentum remains strong, supported by higher oil prices, competitiveness gains stemming from the weaker krone, and a robust labor market. After growing by 2.2 percent in 2018, mainland economic activity is expected to accelerate further and rise by about 2.5 percent this year, before growth slows to 2.1 percent in 2020.

Front-month Brent crude futures were at $62.56 at 0707 GMT, up 27 cents, or 0.4%, from Monday’s close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.75 per barrel, 49 cents, or 0.9%, above their last settlement.

Brent crude futures were up $1.35 at $63.02 a barrel by 0757 GMT. WTI crude futures were up $1.10 at $53.69 per barrel.

Russia's Gazprom Neft said Thursday it and Shell have agreed to create a joint venture to develop fields in West Siberia with combined estimated reserves of 1.1 billion mt of oil.

Brent crude futures were at $60.50 at 0108 GMT. That was 13 cents, or 0.2%, below last session’s close. WTI crude futures were at $51.62 per barrel, 6 cents, or 0.1%, below their last settlement.

Over the last decade Russia and China have significantly increased their energy links, with Russia ramping up supplies of crude and gas, and attracting Chinese investment into major new energy projects.

US crude oil inventories for the week ended May 31, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 6.8 million bbl from the previous week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Brent futures were down 42 cents, or 0.7%, at $61.55 a barrel by 0552 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down by 48 cents, or 0.9%, at $53 a barrel.

This was up 8.7% month on month from April imports of 1.62 million mt, and 20.9% higher from a year earlier. About 94.5% of the Russian imports were ESPO blend, with just one cargo of 96,000-mt of Sokol.

Venezuela's exports of crude oil and refined products fell 17% in May from the previous month to 874,500 barrels per day

Front-month Brent crude futures were at $60.96 at 0844 GMT, down $1.03 or 1.7% below Friday’s close. Prices had dropped by more than 3% on Friday, with May recording the biggest monthly loss in six months. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $52.98 per barrel, down 52 cents, or 1%.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is due to purchase crude oil from Iraq next month to process at the SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR) inaugurated in October 2018 in Izmir.

Total world crude oil production increased sharply in 2018 by 1.213 million barrels/day (mb/d), or 1.6%, as compared to 2017, to reach 75.78 mb/d, marking a historical high and the highest annual growth since 2015.