Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says Saudi Arabia is producing near record levels of crude in April, underscoring the kingdom's willingness to defend market share at a time when oil markets have staged a fragile recovery.

OPEC should consider re-introducing individual output quotas, shuffled quietly to one side in 2008, to prevent oversupply hitting prices should Iran increase its oil exports following a deal over its nuclear work, an OPEC delegate said.

OPEC boosted its production to 30.72 million barrels per day in March, the group’s highest monthly output since November 2012.

Crude oil prices for May delivery climbed for a sixth consecutive day on both New York and London markets Apr. 16, which analysts attributed to signs of a possible slowing in US oil production.

Russia has been holding active, "unprecedented" consultations with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a senior official said on Wednesday, a clear signal of Moscow's strive for higher oil prices.

The rebalancing of the global oil market may still be in its early stage with the outlook “only getting murkier”, according to the International Energy Agency, as uncertainties remain about demand and supply responses to the steep drop in prices.

OPEC's strategy of holding output steady is not working and the group's members should discuss production levels before its next meeting in June, Iran's oil minister said, a sign of the pain lower prices are causing OPEC's less wealthy producers.

OPEC members (predominately Saudi Arabia) have traditionally been the only countries with the ability to ramp-up production through spare oil supply capacity. Nowadays, however, following the shale revolution, the US onshore market is widely being touted as the industry’s new ‘swing’ producer.

Iraq boosted crude shipments in March to the highest level in more than three decades, adding to a global supply glut that has helped push down oil prices by 46% in the last year.

Based on crude oil market assessments in the Short-Term Energy Outlook, EIA estimates that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), excluding Iran, will earn about $700 billion in revenue from net oil exports in 2014, a 14% decrease from 2013 earnings and the lowest earnings for the group since 2010.