An oil union in Neuquen, Argentina's biggest oil and natural gas basin, called off a threat to go on strike after companies vowed to not fire some 700 workers, a union leader said Thursday, easing concerns about the impact on oil and gas production.

Spanish energy group Repsol's upstream oil and gas production in 2019 fell 1% year on year despite Q4 volumes hitting a record quarterly high driven by increased North American output.

US crude supply contracted counter-seasonally last week amid stronger-than-normal refinery demand, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday.

The implementation of the International Maritime Organization's sulfur reduction regulations for bunker fuel has sidelined high sulfur fuel oil from the global marine fuel pool, but feedstock supply tightness on the US Gulf Coast has created an outlet for Russian fuel oil, giving it a second life in the US.

The coronavirus outbreak in China continued to rattle commodity markets Thursday, as the number of cases increased, as did quarantines, raising concerns of lower demand growth.

A surprise US crude inventory draw slowed an overnight oil price decline, but futures still settled in the red amid concerns that the further spread of coronavirus could impact demand.

The cyclical boost in domestic transportation fuel consumption in the first quarter may not materialize this year.

"I do not think it makes much sense on FCC at the moment," another source said.