Crude oil production from the seven major U.S. onshore producing regions is forecast to increase 117,000 b/d month-over-month in September to 6.149 million b/d.

Iran, Russia and Turkey signed agreement on maintaining trilateral cooperation in developing oil and gas fields.

To strengthen financial sector stability, Directors encouraged the authorities to take measures to bolster supervision, and move forward with plans to restructure the statemdash;owned banks that dominate the banking system. They also encouraged strengthening the legal framework of the Central Bank, eliminating a remaining exchange restriction and a multiple currency practice, and accelerating implementation of AML/CFT and antimdash;corruption measures. Directors considered that the peg to the U.S. dollar, which provides a key anchor to the economy, remains appropriate.

Mergers among offshore oil drillers are raising hopes that consolidation could bring relief to a sector struggling to emerge from an industry downturn triggered by low crude prices.

Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor, looks set to deepen his already close ties with the Russian energy sector, after he was nominated as an independent director to the board of state-controlled oil company Rosneft.

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.

North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $48 per barrel (b) in July, $2/b higher than the June average and almost $4/b higher than in July 2016. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices to average $51/b in 2017 and $52/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average $2/b less than Brent prices in both 2017 and 2018.

Global oil stocks fell by 500,000 b/d and preliminary data for July, particularly in the US where stocks fell by 790,000 b/d, is supportive of rebalancing supplies with demand, according to the most recent Oil Market Report from the International Energy Agency.

Total crude oil production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased 173,000 b/d month-over-month in July to average 32.87 million b/d.

Saudi Arabia's state budget deficit shrank by a fifth from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year as revenues rose moderately and spending fell marginally, finance ministry figures showed on Sunday.

Председатель Правительства РФ Дмитрий Медведев подписал подготовленное Минэкономразвития России распоряжение о выдвижении кандидатов в совет директоров и ревизионную комиссию публичного акционерного общества «Нефтяная компания «Роснефть».

Говоря о нефтеперерабатывающей отрасли, глава энергетического ведомства отметил, что к 2035 г. планируется увеличить нефтепереработку на Дальнем Востоке почти в 3,5 раза, до 39,0 млн т., также оказывается поддержка строительства Восточного нефтехимического комплекса мощностью 30,8 млн т в год. Проект предусматривает строительство нефтеперерабатывающего и нефтехимического комплекса и поставку нефтепродуктов и продукции нефтехимии в ДФО и страны АТР.

Benchmark Brent crude was up 20 cents a barrel at $52.56 by 0920 GMT. U.S. light crude was 20 cents higher at $49.79.

“It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the United States. We hope there will be cooperation between our two countries on major global issues so that these sanctions will no longer be necessary.”

The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) has updated its 2017 Canadian Drilling Activity Forecast to reflect an increase in its projected total number of wells to be drilled during the year to 7,200 from 6,680.