REUTERS - Nigeria will move ahead with plans to borrow $5.5 billion from foreign investors after the Senate on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari request for the move.

REUTERS - Further complicating the situation, S&P Global Ratings declared Venezuela in selective default after it failed to make coupon payments on bonds due in 2019 and 2024 within a 30-day grace period. The agency warned there was a strong chance it would miss further payments within three months.

EBRD - The GCF is contributing USD 378 million to this USD 1.4 billion programme to support thousands of individual investments in technologies that reduce emissions and enhance resilience to climate change.

The Russian economy is recovering from a full-blown crisis caused by a massive drop in prices for oil, its key export, and by economic sanctions imposed by the West over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis.

EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 80,000 b/d month-over-month in December to 6.174 million b/d, gas production to increase 779 million cubic feet/day.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $63.55 per barrel at 0614 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $56.79 per barrel, up 5 cents.

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $61.72 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $61.61 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

Vietnam’s state television said Chinese President Xi Jinping had told Vietnam’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong he wanted to work with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct in the sea. China’s Xinhua news agency said China and Vietnam had agreed to properly handle maritime issues and strive to maintain peace and stability.

Output is expected to slump to 1.84 million barrels a day next year, the lowest compared with official government data since 1989.

TransCanada Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TransCanada or the Company) announced net income attributable to common shares for third quarter 2017 of $612 million or $0.70 per share compared to a net loss of $135 million or $0.17 per share for the same period in 2016. Comparable earnings for third quarter 2017 were $614 million or $0.70 per share compared to $622 million or $0.78 per share for the same period in 2016. TransCanada's Board of Directors also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.625 per common share for the quarter ending December 31, 2017, equivalent to $2.50 per common share on an annualized basis.

U.S. Rig Count is up 339 rigs from last year's count of 568, with oil rigs up 286, gas rigs up 54, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. Canada Rig Count is up 27 rigs from last year's count of 176, with oil rigs up 19 and gas rigs up 8.

Vietnam is one of Gazprom’s key partners in Southeast Asia. Together with PetroVietnam, we successfully conduct geological exploration and produce hydrocarbons, as well as make preparations to develop the country’s NGV market.

Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was unchanged at $63.49 a barrel by 0840 GMT. On Tuesday, Brent reached an intra-day high of $64.65, its highest since June 2015. U.S. light crude CLc1 was steady at $56.81, not too far off this week’s more than two-year high of $57.69 a barrel.

Within the grouping of Developing countries, India and China are the two nations with the largest additional energy demand over the forecast period, both in the range of 22–23 mboe/d.

North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $58 per barrel (b) in October, an increase of $1/b from the average in September. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices to average $53/b in 2017 and $56/b in 2018.