Venezuelan state oil enterprise PVDSA confirms positive dialogue with oil workers of the top national industry, said Dario Merchan, director of personnel of this company.

Oil prices were little changed below $73 a barrel on Wednesday, July 4th, hovering near their highest in 10 months amid expectations of strong summer gasoline demand and continued low inventory levels in the world's top consumer.

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest state oil company, cut prices of its crude oil to be exported to the U.S. in August. It raised prices for Europe.

China will use up to 350 million tons of oil this year, ten million tons more than last year, said an expert with the country's top economic planner.

India will receive gas from Iran via a multi-billion-dollar pipeline through Pakistan in four years, an Iranian oil official said in New Delhi.

Japanese stocks advanced for a third day, led by trading companies such as Mitsui & Co., after the price of oil climbed to a 10-month high and a brokerage gave the company its most bullish recommendation.

China's largest oil company PetroChina is planning to sell up to four billion shares through an initial public offering in Shanghai to fund its expansion.

China's imports of crude oil jumped in January to May, driven by the country's double-digit economic growth while growth in oil output almost stagnated in the period, state media said Tuesday, June 19.

Petrobras' president, José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, was in Qatar on June 17 for a series of meetings with local Government representatives to evaluate business opportunities there. Qatar is the world's biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) producer and holds nearly 5% of the global natural gas reserves.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained, reversing an earlier decline.

China's net imports of crude oil rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier to 65.83 million tons in the first five months of the year, driven by the country's robust economic growth.

Indian oil and gas major ONGC has made five oil and gas finds in eastern offshore and North-East, where 3-4 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves have already been established.