The World Bank is holding steady its crude oil price forecast for the year at $55 per barrel, a 29 percent jump from 2016. The energy price forecast assumes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producers will partially comply with an agreement to limit production after a long period of unrestrained output.

Brent crude oil spot prices are expected to remain fairly flat during 2017, in part as a result of the responsiveness of U.S. tight oil production to rising oil prices in late 2016, and they are expected to average $53/b for the year.

Oil demand grows but at a slowing pace; and non-combusted uses replace transport as the main source of demand growth by 2030s

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says Iran's crude oil output is at 3.9 million barrels per day.

Libya froze all new foreign investment in 2011 after the civil war that toppled strongman Moammar Gadhafi. International oil companies such as Total SA of France and ConocoPhillips have long had operations in Libya, and Eni SpA of Italy has found ways to keep pumping even as clashes among warring militias and Islamic State damaged the country’s oil infrastructure.

PetroChina, China's biggest listed oil company by assets, expected the supply and demand for global oil market would gradually become balanced in 2017 and international oil prices would "recover," the company said late Wednesday in a profits warning for the 2016 annual result.

"We urge the United States to respect the facts, speak and act cautiously to avoid harming the peace and stability of the South China Sea,"

Brent crude LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, was trading at $55.42 per barrel at 0441 GMT, down 7 cents from its last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 11 cents to $53.11 a barrel.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC’s 13 nations and 11 producers outside the cartel had made collective cuts totaling 1.5 million barrels a day since agreements were struck in late November and early December. Oil prices have risen nearly 20% since those deals were made, despite widespread skepticism over whether OPEC and other producers would follow through.

U.S. Rig Count is up 57 rigs from last year's count of 637, with oil rigs up 41, gas rigs up 15, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 Canadian Rig Count is up 92 rigs from last year's count of 250, with oil rigs up 59, gas rigs up 33, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged.