Brent gained 28 cents to $78.16 a barrel , WTI rose 34 cents at $72.90.

Brent rose 21 cents, or 0.27%, to $77.01 a barrel. WTI gained 20 cents, or 0.28%, to reach $71.57 a barrel.

The Worldwide Rig Count for December was 1,739, down 55 from the 1,794 counted in November 2023, and down 95, from the 1,834 counted in December 2022.

Brent frose 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.30 a barrel. WTI inched up 0.1%, or 6 cents, to $70.83 a barrel.

The US Treasury Department announced the steps Wednesday, including sanctions on Bellatrix Energy Ltd., a Hong Kong-based firm among the shadowy traders that emerged to help Russia keep its oil exports flowing.

Brent fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $79.48 a barrel. WTI was at $74 a barrel, also down 22 cents or 0.3%.

Brent rose 40 cents to $77.01 a barrel, WTI climbed 40 cents to $71.98.

On the margins of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and OPEC Fund Director General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa signed Practical Arrangements on Cooperation in the Area of Climate Adaptation to enhance collaborative efforts by both entities to develop and implement joint projects on climate adaptation.

The nation’s plants processed 5.33 million barrels of crude a day in the first six days of the month, down about 81,000 barrels a day from the prior week’s average, according to a person with knowledge of industry data.

Brent climbed 1 cents to $77.21 a barrel, WTI were down 4 cents at $72.28 a barrel.

These additional voluntary cuts are announced by the following OPEC+ countries : Saudi Arabia (1,000 thousand b/d); Iraq (223 thousand b/d); United Arab Emirates (163 thousand b/d); Kuwait (135 thousand b/d); Kazakhstan (82 thousand b/d); Algeria (51 thousand b/d); and Oman (42 thousand b/d) starting 1st of January until the end of March 2024.

Extreme weather events,food supply disruption add urgency to energy transition.Panama Canal drought has effectively reduced carrying capacity due to climate change. Green deal creating incentives on critical minerals.

The Worldwide Rig Count for November was 1,794, up 17 from the 1,777 counted in October 2023, and down 96, from the 1,890 counted in November 2022.

Brent fell 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.95 a barrel, WTI rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, at $77.98 a barrel.

Right now, 6.3 million UK households are in fuel poverty, according to National Energy Action. That’s up from 4.5 million, recorded in October 2021, when Europe’s energy crunch began, it said. Over the last three months, millions have been using appliances like ovens or going to bed early to stay warm, the study showed.