International benchmark Brent crude prices were up 68 cents at $54.84 a barrel at 0950 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading up 63 cents at $52 a barrel.

U.S. oil production will up 41 tbd, gas production will up 330 mcfd.

Cnooc said it plans to lift capital spending to between Rmb60bn and RMB70bn this year, from budgeted capex of Rmb50.3bn in 2016. It intends to produce between 450m and 460m barrels of oil equivalent this year, compared with an estimated 476m last year.

Preliminary production figures for December 2016 show an average daily production of 2 094 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 60 000 barrels per day (approx. 3 percent) compared to November.

The sum total in November of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a monthly net TIC inflow of $23.7 billion. Of this, net foreign private inflows were $25.2 billion, and net foreign official outflows were $1.5 billion.

Pakistan LNG Limited opened the financial bids for the supply of 240 shipments of LNG January 19. Gunvor has bagged a five-year contract to supply 60 shipments while Eni has been awarded a 15-year contract to supply 180 shipments.

Preliminary production figures for December 2016 show an average daily production of 2 094 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 60 000 barrels per day (approx. 3 percent) compared to November.

Brent for March settlement rose 27 cents to $55.72 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract fell 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $55.45 a barrel on Friday. Prices slid 2.9 percent last week, the biggest drop since November. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $2.32 to March WTI.

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo forecast on Monday that stability would return to oil markets this year while price hawk Venezuela said it hoped its crude basket would rise to $70 in coming months.

China’s oil production is forecast to fall by as much as 7 percent this year, extending a record decline in 2016.