OPEC and allied oil producers should extend their production cuts beyond March to help re-balance the market, the United Arab Emirates said, adding weight to a gathering consensus for longer reductions in output among participants in the global accord.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $63.55 per barrel at 0614 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $56.79 per barrel, up 5 cents.

PLATTS - Nigeria's Bonny Light crude has seen its price rise to its highest levels since February, as the grade began to trade in a more regular fashion in the spot market following several months of disruption due to loading delays and forces majeures.

REUTERS - Nigeria will move ahead with plans to borrow $5.5 billion from foreign investors after the Senate on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari request for the move.

API welcomed legislation that would allow for safe and responsible natural gas and oil development in a small non-wilderness portion of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The legislation was released by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to be included as part of the budget reconciliation bill.

EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 80,000 b/d month-over-month in December to 6.174 million b/d, gas production to increase 779 million cubic feet/day.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $63.55 per barrel at 0614 GMT, up 3 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $56.79 per barrel, up 5 cents.

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $61.72 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $61.61 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The world’s biggest oil explorer by market value recently finished four wells in North Dakota’s Bakken region that extend sideways for 3 miles (4.8 kilometers), Barclays Plc analyst Paul Cheng said in a research note after meeting Exxon executives, and it’s closing in on the 4-mile mark.

U.S. Rig Count is up 339 rigs from last year's count of 568, with oil rigs up 286, gas rigs up 54, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. Canada Rig Count is up 27 rigs from last year's count of 176, with oil rigs up 19 and gas rigs up 8.