Total capital expenditure in renewables will rise above $30 billion in the region by 2020, just overtaking investment into exploration and production for oil and natural gas,

Although compliance to the cuts had a slow start, OPEC's JMMC noted in a press release following their meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that compliance had hit a record high of 168% in April 2019. Average conformity reached 120% since January 2019.

Russia’s GDP unexpectedly grew just 0.5% in the first quarter, below all 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That compares with a 2.7% increase in the last three months of 2018, which was the highest in more than six years as crude output reached a record 11.45mn barrels a day in December, according to ministry data as Opec+ curbs eased.

"We are not getting any oil from Iran now," said the Turkey's official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We were one of the eight countries getting an exception from those sanctions, and now we are ready to abide by them," he said.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) and Saudi Aramco announced their respective subsidiaries, Sempra LNG and Aramco Services Company, have signed a heads of agreement (HOA). The HOA anticipates the negotiation and finalization of a definitive 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale-and-purchase agreement (SPA) for 5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG offtake from Phase 1 of the Port Arthur LNG export project under development.

Following its 14th Meeting, which took place on 19 May 2019, in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a balanced market and working towards oil market stability on a sustainable basis with solid fundamentals.

"We want to bring inventories down to a more normal levels," Falih said. "We need to stay the course and do that in the weeks and months to come."

Russia sees a range of options that would allow OPEC+ to continue output cooperation until year-end, from easing the limits to ending the extreme throttling-back that has seen some countries exceed original cutback targets.

"Work to increase production to full capacity will continue, and in early June Kashagan should reach production levels of 370,000-400,000 b/d due to the work carried out during the maintenance," it said.

In line with plans to localise the production of renewable energy in Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030 economic diversification push, seven photovoltaic solar power projects with a capacity of 1.52 GW and worth $1.51bn (SAR5.6bn) were launched on the side-lines of the recently concluded Saudi Elenex exhibition.

OPEC+ would take action to offset losses of Iranian supply if market fundamentals justified it. However, no policy changes will be made until the next full OPEC+ meeting in Vienna, in June.

Iran has sent abroad between 250,000 bpd and 500,000 bpd of oil so far in May, according to two industry sources who track the flows. Data from Refinitiv Eikon put crude shipments at about 250,000 bpd and exports of crude and condensate, a light oil, at about 400,000 bpd.

The region needs more peace and stability to ensure the flow of oil supplies, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has said, noting that, "Any tension that occurs in the region affects the whole world."

An Iranian official said the exports of natural gas to Iraq are growing steadily and are expected to hit 40 million cubic meters a day in summer.

The sanctions have already more than halved Iranian oil exports to 1 million bpd or less, from a peak of 2.8 million bpd last year. Exports could drop to as low as 500,000 bpd from May, an Iranian official told Reuters this month.