The figure of around 2.2 million to 2.3 million b/d includes about 300,000 to 400,000 b/d of condensates, which implies that its current crude oil production is at the coveted 1.8 million b/d mark.

The acquisition of Russia’s Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC) by U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger (SLB.N) has been held up by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Russian Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted as saying by local news services.

The Trump administration is ready to block a Russian state-owned oil giant from gaining control of critical energy assets in the U.S. owned by Venezuela, senior American officials say, a move that likely would feed tensions between Washington and Moscow.

The October light, sweet crude contract on NYMEX fell 13¢ on Aug. 29 to settle at $46.44/bbl while the November contract was up 4¢ to settle at $47/bbl. The NYMEX natural gas price for September gained 3.6¢ to a rounded $2.96/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price was $2.88/MMbtu, down 4¢. The Brent crude contract for October on London’s ICE was up 11¢ to $52/bbl. The November contract gained 24¢ to $51.66/bbl. The September gas oil contract was $484.50/tonne on Aug. 29, up 25¢. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes on Aug. 29 was $49.51/bbl, down 35¢.

Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia are pushing to extend their deal to limit crude oil production for another three months, which would leave the output deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in place through the end of June, people familiar with the matter said.

Three Libyan oilfields have gone offline and output has declined by 360,000 bopd after militia violence, the country’s NOC announced.

Profit attributable to the owners of PJSC Gazprom for the six months ended June 30, 2017 totalled RUB 381,346 million which is RUB 225,814 million, or 37 % less than for the same period of the prior year.

International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were 32 cents lower at $51.57 per barrel, having traded as high as $52.19 earlier in the day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 edged down 5 cents to $46.52 a barrel, after falling more than 2 percent in the previous session.

Iran has exported an average of more than 2.6 million barrels of oil and gas condensate per day last month (July 23- Aug 22), Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneeh said.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 52 cents at $47.35 a barrel. Brent crude LCOc1 was down 12 cents at $52.29 per barrel.

The overall economy in the U.S. showed gains in July, adding 209,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The U.S. unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons remained essentially unchanged at 4.3 percent and 7.0 million, respectively.

Oman’s petroleum and other liquids production averaged more than 1 million barrels per day in 2016, its highest production level ever. Oman was on track to maintain this production level in 2017, but it reduced production to approximately 970,000 barrels per day in early 2017 to meet the production cut it agreed to, along with members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

“We have been producing oil and gas in Norway for nearly 50 years and we are still not halfway done. Vast volumes of oil and gas have been discovered on the Norwegian shelf that are still waiting to be produced. We want companies with the ability and willingness to utilise new knowledge and advanced technology. This will yield profitable production for many decades in the future,” says Ingrid Sølvberg, Director of development and operations in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

U.S. - The Trump administration imposed new sanctions prohibiting trading new debt and equity issued by the Venezuelan government and state oil company PDVSA.

Brent crude futures, LCOc1 the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $51.92 per barrel at 0652 GMT, down 18 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $48.70 a barrel, down 12 cents, or 0.3 percent.