RIYADH: Oil prices extended gains for a second session on Wednesday after a strong jump in manufacturing in China, the world’s top crude importer, boosted the outlook for global fuel demand. Brent crude futures for May rose $1.44, or 1.75 percent, to $83.89 a barrel at 11.20 a.m. Saudi time. US West Texas Intermediate crude for April gained 49 cents, or 0.64 percent, to $77.54 a barrel. Russia’s Gazprom to reduce oil production by 500,000 bpd Alexander Dyukov, CEO of Russian energy firm Gazprom has announced the firm’s intention to reduce oil production by 500,000 barrels per day. According to the CEO, the output cut is designed to balance the oil market in the face of a global surplus. He added that the likely oil price will range from $80-$110 per barrel in 2023. US crude output fell in December to lowest since August 2022: EIA US crude oil production fell in December to 12.10 million barrels per day, its lowest since August 2022, Energy Information Administration data showed on Tuesday. Among the top oil-producing states, monthly output in Texas sank 1.2 percent to 5.15 million bpd, also its lowest since August 2022, the EIA said. In North Dakota, output sank 12.5 percent to about 950,000 bpd, its lowest since April 2022. In New Mexico, output grew 2.7 percent to 1.77 million bpd, the highest on record, the EIA said. Meanwhile, product supplied — a proxy for demand — of crude and petroleum products fell in December to 19.49 million bpd, the lowest since March 2021, the EIA said. Product supplied of finished motor gasoline fell in December to 8.57 million bpd, the lowest since January 2022, the EIA said. Gross natural gas production in the US Lower 48 states dropped by 3.1 billion cubic feet per day to 109.2 bcfd in December from a record 112.3 bcfd in November, according to EIA’s monthly 914 production report. That was the biggest monthly drop since output plunged by a record 7.9 bcfd during the February freeze of 2021. In top gas-producing states, monthly output in December fell 1.6 percent to 31.3 bcfd in Texas and 2.3 percent to 19.7 bcfd in Pennsylvania. Gas output hit a record high of 31.9 bcfd in Texas in October 2022 and 21.8 bcfd in Pennsylvania in December 2021. Chevron’s output gains in Venezuela limited by political risk: CEO Chevron Corp. is producing about 90,000 barrels per day from its Venezuelan oil joint ventures, nearly double the daily output in 2022, CEO Michael Wirth said on Tuesday, warning that political risks could limit further gains. The largest US producer still operating in Venezuela, which is under US sanctions, has returned some employees to operations in the South American country under an authorization from Washington. Output is running at about 90,000 bpd, compared to the 50,000 bpd before the easing last year of the US sanctions. Chevron received a six-month US license last November that can be automatically renewed monthly. But Chevron’s production from Venezuela could remain modest, Wirth said, with the result of future elections still a factor. “I would expect us to go slow” in Venezuela, Wirth told analysts during the company’s annual investor day, adding that output “is a little bit higher than that 90,000 bpd probably today.” (With input from Reuters)