Investing.com - Crude oil gained smartly in Asia on Monday as investors noted disruptions in Nigeria and broader concerns over Venezuela output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in June rose 1.32% to $46.82 a barrel. Brent crude gained 1.30% to $48.45 a barrel.
In the week ahead, oil traders will be focusing on U.S. stockpile data on Tuesday and Wednesday for fresh supply-and-demand signals.
Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. fell by ten last week to 308, marking the eighth straight week of declines. At this time last year, drillers were operating 660 oil rigs.
Also last week, oil futures fell for the first time in three sessions on Friday, pulling back from six-month highs, as renewed concerns over a global supply glut prompted traders to book recent gains.
OPEC pumped 32.44 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, the group said in a monthly report published Friday, up 188,000 bpd from March.
This is the highest since at least 2008, as sanctions on Iran were lifted and an initiative with Russia and other non-members to tackle a supply glut by freezing output failed last month.
The group warned that a global supply glut may increase this year as surging output from its members makes up for losses from other countries whose production has been hit by low prices.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery shed 25 cents, or 0.52%, to end the week at $47.83 a barrel.
Brent was pushed higher amid reports of a militant attack on a Chevron-operated offshore oil facility in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region as well as news of supply disruptions in Libya.
In Venezuela political and economic turmoil combined with weak oil prices has fuelled concern that has hit the bolivar currency and raised prospects of a default by national oil company PDVSA, which has to make almost $5 billion in bond payments this year.
Brent futures prices are up by roughly 65% since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel in mid-February, despite the collapse of talks at a Doha summit in April aimed at achieving a production freeze among OPEC and Non-OPEC producers. OPEC meets on June 2 in Vienna and may discuss the freeze initiative again.