Venezuela's oil exports last month surpassed 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) as supplies of imported diluents boosted production and shipments, according to documents from state-run firm PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon tracking data.
Rapidly dwindling crude inventories around the NYMEX delivery point at Cushing have helped push front-month futures prices to the highest level in seven years and drive the market into an exceptionally steep backwardation.
Chevron Corp on Friday posted its highest quarterly profit in eight years on surging oil and gas prices, higher output and a recovery in motor fuel demand that boosted refining margins.
Executives at Brazil's Petrobras on Fridayeffectively brushed aside suggestions that the company was too profitable and should lower its fuel prices, telling analysts that it had no plans subsidize consumers at the pump.