Iran's crude oil exports in December are set to fall 8 percent from November to a five-month low, a source with knowledge of its preliminary tanker schedule said, as lower shipments to China and others in Asia offset bumper exports to Europe.

President-elect Donald Trump named the head of Exxon Mobil Corp, Rex Tillerson, as his choice for U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and won backing from some Republican foreign policy figures ahead of a possible Senate fight over the oilman's ties to Russia.

Located in waters up to 500-metres deep, Malikai is Shell’s second deep-water project in Malaysia, following the successful start-up of the Gumusut-Kakap platform in 2014. Malikai is expected to have a peak production of 60,000 barrels per day. As the company’s first TLP in the country, Malikai is an example of the strength of Shell’s global deep-water business, applying TLP expertise from decades of operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

International Brent crude futures were down 58 cents at $55.14 per barrel at 1054 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were down 61 cents at $52.37 a barrel.

Oil production companies recorded positive earnings from their upstream (exploration and production) operations in the third quarter of 2016 for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2014.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board, signed the Basic Agreement regarding the asset swap. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Hans Jörg Schelling, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Austria, and Anatoly Yanovsky, Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia.

Operations have restarted at two key oil fields and a connected pipeline in Western Libya that have been shut down for over two years, Libyan officials said, following an agreement with local tribes.

Iraq plans to increase crude-oil exports in January, government records show, immediately raising questions about its commitment to slashing production in line with OPEC’s landmark production agreement last month.

Oil, gas and petrochemistry are major topics of economic discussions between Iranian and Indonesian officials during the Indonesian president visit to Iran.

Rosneft and the China National Petrochemical Company (ChemChina) signed a Heads of Agreement on establishing a Joint Venture. The document was signed by Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin, and General Manager of ChemChina Yang Xingqiang.

“He led the company with integrity and honor, ensuring that safety and environmental protection were at the forefront of everything we do, generating value for shareholders and highlighting the impressive accomplishments of the company’s diverse workforce throughout the world. We know that his service to the nation as secretary of state will be equally successful and distinguished.”

The U.S. current account deficit decreased to $113.0 billion (preliminary) in the third quarter of 2016 from $118.3 billion (revised) in the second quarter of 2016, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The deficit decreased to 2.4 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) from 2.6 percent in the second quarter.

Министр энергетики Российской Федерации Александр Новак принял участие в официальном визите Президента Российской Федерации Владимира Путина в Японию.

Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 ноября по 14 декабря 2016 года составила $47,82068 за баррель, или $349,1 за тонну.

Japanese refiners have received notices of crude supply cuts from "some producers" for January loading, following OPEC's November 30 decision to cut production.

But for all the talk of trade barriers, oil prices rising on supply cuts, and planned U.S. tax cuts and infrastructure spending, the global inflation outlook hasn't changed much, even if the Fed is sounding more worried about it.

Brent crude futures were trading at $54.02 per barrel at 0808 GMT, flat from its last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 2 cents at $50.88 per barrel.

U.S. Rig Count is down 72 rigs from last year's count of 709, with oil rigs down 31, gas rigs down 42, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 72 rigs from last year's count of 162, with oil rigs up 45, gas rigs up 25, and miscellaneous rigs up 2.

Pursuant to Gazprom’s approved budget (financial plan), the overall amount of investments in 2017 will stand at RUB 910.67 billion, with RUB 625.455 billion intended for construction projects, RUB 0.125 billion for the acquisition of non-current assets, and RUB 285.09 billion for long-term financial investments.

BP today signed an agreement with the Supreme Petroleum Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) that grants BP a 10% interest in Abu Dhabi’s ADCO onshore oil concession, which has a life of 40 years.