“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."

“Security and access to funding are the biggest challenges right now to private sector players,” says Kola Karim, managing director of domestic producer Shoreline Energy. “The situation is really tough.”

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.

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.

"I came here to meet with the Iranian petroleum minister just before attending the crucial meeting of OPEC members in Algiers and Minister Zangeneh assured me here that he would do and Iran would do everything possible to reach the consensus and to work for it," the official added.

With its oil revenues slashed by low crude prices, the government of the world’s largest oil exporter has cut spending sharply this year and reduced or suspended payments owed to construction firms, medical establishments and even some of the foreign consultants who helped to design its economic reforms.

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.

Global benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was down 39 cents at $46.56 a barrel at 0917 GMT. It closed Tuesday 5.7 percent higher on news that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would renew efforts to limit production. U.S. crude CLc1 was 47 cents lower at $45.34 a barrel.