The Norwegian economy is slowly picking up after a two-year slowdown in its top industry, oil production, due to a halving of crude prices since mid-2014. In recent months, crude prices have risen and stabilised at around $55 per barrel.

The worldwide rig count for February 2017 was 2,027, up 109 from the 1,918 counted in January 2017, and up 266 from the 1,761 counted in February 2016.

Brent crude futures dropped 47 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $55.43 a barrel as of 0749 GMT after settling 1.5 percent higher in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 47 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $52.86 a barrel after closing the previous session up 1.4 percent.

Александр Новак прогнозирует стоимость эталонной корзины Brent в 2017 году на уровне $55-60 за баррель, тогда как Urals будет торговаться с дисконтом в $2-3 за баррель к североморскому эталону.

Myanmar, one of the oldest oil and gas industries in the region and a country which exported its first crude oil centuries ago, is again emerging as a bright spot for overseas investors after sanctions, which were imposed on the country during a long period of military rule and political unrest, were lifted in 2012.

The company plans to spend nearly $5.5 billion drilling in Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota. Exxon is hoping to take advantage of technological advancements and lower costs of doing business in the shale.

U.S. Rig Count is up 267 rigs from last year's count of 489, with oil rigs up 217, gas rigs up 49, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 206 rigs from last year's count of 129, with oil rigs up 147 and gas rigs up 59.

Oil closed at the lowest level in more than three weeks as record U.S. crude inventories were seen jeopardizing OPEC’s efforts to drain a global surplus.

Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was up 19 cents at $55.27 a barrel at 0941 GMT, recovering some of Thursday's losses that amounted to more than 2 percent. WTI futures CLc1 traded at $52.69 a barrel, up 8 cents on the previous close.

World's top crude exporter Saudi Arabia cut April prices of light crude it sells to Asia for the first time in three months in a bid to shore up demand in an oversupplied market, trade sources said.