A measure of oil volatility last month averaged the lowest in more than two years and futures in New York have been stuck between $50 and $55 a barrel since OPEC and other producing nations agreed Dec. 10 to reduce output. Price estimates compiled by Bloomberg show crude will average $52 during the first quarter this year, rising to $58 in the last three months of 2017.

Therefore, OPEC has raised its supply to Asia, and Russia has also re-routed a great chunk of its rising production toward China and the Asia-Pacific over the past decade. Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as China's biggest supplier last year, exporting 1.05 million bpd of crude versus Saudi Arabia's 1.02 million.

China's apparent oil demand slipped into the negative territory in 2016, a sharp reversal from the near 7% growth witnessed a year earlier, as the country's slowest GDP growth in 26 years slashed appetite for industrial and transportation fuels in Asia's biggest oil consuming nation.

Global oil and gas deal activity in 2016 recovered from a slow start to the year with help from the announcements of midstream and oilfield services (OFS) megadeals. Deal value increased in 2016 to US$395 billion from US$340 billion in 2015, while deal volume fell by 27% year-on-year.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 25 cents at $55.83 a barrel at 0954 GMT, having traded in a narrow 53-cent range so far in the session. U.S. crude CLc1 rose 26 cents to $53.07.

Brent crude oil LCOc1 was down 20 cents a barrel at $55.03 by 0900 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was down 30 cents a barrel at $52.33.

London Brent crude for March delivery had dropped 28 cents to $55.24 a barrel by 0657 GMT, after settling down 72 cents on Friday. NYMEX crude for March delivery was down 23 cents at $52.90 a barrel.

Igor Yusufov, Russia’s energy minister from 2001 to 2004, said U.S. shale producers wouldn’t attempt to enter core OPEC and Russia markets where prices are too low for them to compete. “The fact is that shale oil and gas are doing well in markets that start from a certain price,” he said in an email exchange with The Wall Street Journal.

“Today’s action to reapply for the Keystone XL Pipeline’s cross-border permit is an important step forward to building a 21st Century energy infrastructure system across our nation,” said Gerard. “The Keystone XL Pipeline would support tens of thousands of jobs, contribute billions of dollars to our economy, and deliver energy efficiently and safely to consumers.

U.S. Rig Count is up 93 rigs from last year's count of 619, with oil rigs up 68, gas rigs up 24, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 114 rigs from last year's count of 231, with oil rigs up 74 and gas rigs up 40.