Brent crude, the international oil marker, rose more than $3.00, or 7.2 per cent, to $49.73 in the late morning in London.

Oil companies around the world have together added $630 billion to their market value this year, the biggest gain in six years following a 30 percent rise in benchmark Brent crude. This follows a $1.2 trillion loss in value last year and $790 billion in 2014 as crude prices plunged.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell as far as 2 percent before clawing back to trade up 29 cents at $47.44 per barrel at 1008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 also recouped early losses and were trading up 15 cents at $46.21 per barrel.

“We expect demand to recover in 2017, then prices will stabilize, and this will happen without an intervention from OPEC,” Al-Falih said in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. “We don’t have a single path which is to cut production at the OPEC meeting, we can also depend on recovery in consumption, especially from the U.S.”

"The general trend and public statements suggest that OPEC can reach a viable agreement for its production and market management." "If we can agree, and I am optimistic, (oil) prices will increase and this is also what the world economy demands."

At 1040 GMT (5:40 a.m. ET), Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $48.89, down 6 cents from their close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was down 2 cents at $47.94 per barrel.

"According to our plans, (Russian) oil output is going up next year. If we keep production at the current level we are making our contribution, for us that essentially means a cut of 200,000-300,000 barrels per day (in 2017)", he told journalists.

Iran and Iraq emerged as major stumbling blocks to an OPEC agreement on reducing crude-oil output, as cartel members gathered ahead of their official meeting to tackle the thorny puzzle of how to share the pain of reducing their production

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 85 cents a barrel at $49.75 by 1000 GMT (5:00 a.m. ET), having earlier risen $1 in a push against the $50 mark for the first time since the end of October. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 68 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $48.92 a barrel.

Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 60 cents a barrel at $47.23 by 1120 GMT (6:20 a.m. ET). U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 50 cents at $46.07.