Brazil has seen its exports of crude grow from 734,000 b/d in 2015 to 1.3 million b/d in Q1 of this year. In contrast, Mexico, which was once a powerhouse of oil production, has maintained its export status only through curtailment of domestic refining, not increased crude oil output.

Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom increased its first-quarter net profit by 44 per cent over the previous year as higher gas prices offset lower gas export volumes.

Profit attributable to shareholders totaled RUB 149.2 bln, up 36.8% year-on-year. The growth was restrained with higher DD&A due to the launch of new production facilities.

Front-month Brent crude futures were at $69.53 a barrel at 0641 GMT, down 58 cents, or 0.8%, from last session’s close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.46 per barrel, down 70 cents, or 1.2%, from their last settlement.

Despite the classic “wildcatting” image of plucky entrepreneurs trying their luck, smaller, independent drillers are losing access to capital

Investments are now seen at a four-year high of 183.7 billion Norwegian crowns ($21.11 billion) in 2019, up from the 172.7 billion crowns seen in February, according to SSB, which collects the data from oil firms.

Canada is the second-largest importer of energy from the United States, in terms of trade value, behind only Mexico. Energy accounted for $84 billion, or 26%, of the value of all U.S. imports from Canada in 2018.

Spot Brent crude futures were firmer at $68.82 per barrel, 13 cents, or 0.2%, above their last close. WTI crude futures were at $58.43 per barrel at 0700 GMT, down 20 cents, or 0.3%, from their last settlement.

Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA exported 1.416 million barrels of combined crude and products in May to Cuba's state Cubametales, up from 355,000 barrels in April.

Brent crude futures were at $68.48 per barrel at 0654 GMT, up 72 cents, or 1.1%, from their last close, with prices underpinned by OPEC supply cuts and Middle East tensions. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 66 cents, or 1.1%, at $58.57 per barrel.

Although compliance to the cuts had a slow start, OPEC's JMMC noted in a press release following their meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that compliance had hit a record high of 168% in April 2019. Average conformity reached 120% since January 2019.

Russia’s GDP unexpectedly grew just 0.5% in the first quarter, below all 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That compares with a 2.7% increase in the last three months of 2018, which was the highest in more than six years as crude output reached a record 11.45mn barrels a day in December, according to ministry data as Opec+ curbs eased.

"We are not getting any oil from Iran now," said the Turkey's official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We were one of the eight countries getting an exception from those sanctions, and now we are ready to abide by them," he said.

Russia removes contaminated oil from an export pipeline Druzhba

Brent crude futures were at $70.36 per barrel, down 63 cents, or 0.9%, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down by 51 cents, or 0.8%, at $60.91 per barrel.