Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 11.0 cents, or 6.8%, to settle at $1.731 per million British thermal units.

Brent was down $1.23, or 3.6%, at $32.88 a barrel, WTI was $1.01, or 3.6%, lower at $27.33 a barrel

Saudi Arabia raised its crude output to 12.3 million bpd on April 1 and said it planned to export to more than 10 million bpd starting from April.

"Russia was not a supporter of ending the OPEC+ deal. President Putin and the Russian side are overall inclined towards a constructive negotiation process, there is no alternative for stabilizing the international energy market,"

Brent gained 3.64% to $31.03, WTI fell 0.83% to $25.11.

The OPEC+ crude oil exporter group is debating cutting global supply by 10 million barrels per day

"It's impossible to take measures to reduce OPEC+ production by 20 million b/d, this is probably half of all countries' total production," Novak said

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said a coordinated OPEC+ production cut would not be enough to compensate for the fall in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which he said could reach 20 million b/d.

Urals crude, Russia’s export blend, is now trading firmly below $20 a barrel, a level which could equate to a budget deficit of 2% of gross domestic product this year,

Brent was up 10.75%, or $2.66, to $27.40, WTI rose 10.09% or $2.05, to $22.36.

Saudi Arabia is following through on its threat to flood the market, after Russia last month rejected a Saudi-led OPEC proposal for significant production cuts to backstop already sliding oil prices from the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the global economy.

Podcast/Audio - US lawmakers from oil-producing states are trying to increase pressure on the White House to do something to help drillers getting hammered by plummeting prices -- from aggressive diplomacy to banning crude imports.

U.S. Commercial crude stocks jumped 13.83 million barrels to 469.19 million barrels during the week

Oil slid to $25 a barrel on Wednesday, within sight of its lowest in 18 years,

Brent was down $1.45, or 5.5%, at $24.90. WTI was down 27 cents, or 1.3%, at $20.21.