Falling global crude oil stockpiles in 2017 will help put the market “roughly” into balance in 2018, but an increase in prices could be limited, especially if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries doesn’t stick to its agreement to curb output, the International Energy Agency said.

A fresh wave of North American crude cargoes could reach the Far East in the coming months, with an estimated 6 million barrels or more of light sweet US grades loading in November expected to find a home in Asia as regional end-users step up efforts to find cheaper feedstocks amid sustained strength in the Middle Eastern crude complex, Asian trade sources said.

India will work with Japan to make long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deals more affordable for its price-sensitive consumers, it said on Wednesday, as these two big importers try to secure better prices and concessions from suppliers.

Rosneft has recently inked a number of deals which could facilitate the company’s ambitions to develop international gas trading and export operations, the latest stage in a long-running attempt to become a major gas player and access the lucrative export market.

Rosneft closed the deal to acquire a 30% stake in the concessions agreement for the development of Zohr field, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, from Italian company Eni S.p.A.

Wheatstone, co-owned by Australia’s Woodside Petroleum, Kuwait Foreign Exploration Co and Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Co, has two gas liquefaction units, which at full capacity will supply 8.9 million metric tonnes of LNG a year to customers in Asia.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.75 per barrel at 0649 GMT, up 14 cents, or 0.25 percent, from their last close. Brent also rose 2 percent the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.09 a barrel, up 17 cents, or 0.33 percent, from their last settlement. Prices rose 2 percent the day before to back above $50 a barrel.

"Ключевую роль играли две стороны — Россия и Саудовская Аравия как крупнейшие производители нефти в мире. Примерно 11 млн баррелей в сутки добывает Саудовская Аравия, Российская Федерация — чуть больше, мы занимаем первое место. "

Based on a “lower-for-longer” base-case scenario, global oil prices will remain in the $50-60/bbl range until late 2020, due to increasing supply that breaks even at $50/bbl, according to to the most recent global oil supply and demand outlook from McKinsey Energy Insights (MEI).

API announced that estimated wells completed in the third quarter of 2017 increased 63 percent compared to the third quarter of 2016. This includes a dramatic 84 percent increase for all oil wells completed from year-ago levels.