U.S. Rig Count is up 3 from last week to 698 , Canada Rig Count is down 6 from last week to 95.

Brent rose 88 cents, or 0.8%, to $108.47 a barrel, WTI gained 55 cents, or 0.5%, to $105.91 a barrel.

ExxonMobil holds a 30% stake in Sakhalin 1. Other partners include Rosneft with 20%, Japan's Sodeco with 30% and India's ONGC Videsh with 20%.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels to 414.4 million barrels.

Brent were up 17 cents, or 0.2%, at $105.49 a barrel, WTI gained 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $102.28.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $105.33 a barrel on Wednesday,

Gas distributors in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are planning to open rouble accounts at Gazprombank in Switzerland in order to satisfy a Russian requirement for payments in its own currency

"To pay in rubles -- if this is not foreseen in the contract -- is a breach of our sanctions. We have about 97% of all contracts that explicitly stipulate payments in euros or dollars," she said.

An oil price cap is one of a number of proposals being discussed as EU ambassadors prepare for talks in coming days about more sanctions on Moscow — the sixth such package since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine two months ago.

"The document says the rule is about HS codes, so it is applicable to all origins," a South Korea-based source said. "This should help Russian coal demand more than other origins because it is already at a discount to other origins."

Brent rose 67 cents, or 0.6%, to $105.66 a barrel , WTI gained 44 cents, or 0.4%, to $102.14 a barrel.

"As of the end of the business day on April 26, Gazprom Export had not received payments for gas supplies in April from Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland) in rubles," Gazprom said in a statement.

Brent were down 56 cents, or 0.5%, at $101.76 a barrel, WTI were down 56 cents, or 0.5%, at $101.76 a barrel.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $101.93 a barrel

Traders are keeping a close watch on whether a resolution can be found on the Kremlin’s demand to be paid in rubles for its gas. European Union lawyers have said the new mechanism violates existing sanctions, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that flows could be cut if the terms aren’t met.