Saudi Arabia faces a difficult balancing act as it tries to work down excess global crude stocks while protecting relationships with important refining customers in the United States and Asia.

U.S. shale producers are drilling at the highest rate in 18 months but have left a record number of wells unfinished in the largest oilfield in the country – a sign that output may not rise as swiftly as drilling activity would indicate.

Production from the layer will reach 35,000 barrels per day once its wells are fully operational.

Preliminary production figures for February 2017 show an average daily production of 2 010 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 25 000 barrels per day (approx. 1 percent) compared to January.

Compliance of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with an oil output cut exceeded a target, standing at 140% in February.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will comply fully with its OPEC commitment to reduce oil production by more than 139,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March and April, the Gulf OPEC member's energy minister Suhail said on Thursday.

A significant, years-long oil supply crunch may be approaching due to insufficient investment in exploration and production, Hess CEO John Hess said Monday at IHS CERAWeek.

Crude oil production increased 1.0 percent from December 2016, but was down by 2.5 percent from January 2016 to average almost 9.0 million barrels per day in January 2017. This was the third highest January since 1986. Natural gas liquids (NGL) production, a co-product of natural gas production, was up from both the prior month and prior year. NGL production in January averaged 3.5 million barrels per day, up 1.9 percent from last month and was 6.6 percent higher than last year. This was the highest January output level on record.

U.S. crude oil production increased for the second consecutive month in November 2016, the first time this has occurred since early 2015. Increased drilling activity in the Permian region, which spans Texas and New Mexico, as well as the start of a number of new projects in the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM), more than offset declining production from other regions in October and November 2016.

Preliminary production figures for January 2017 show an average daily production of about 2 024 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate. This is 42 000 barrels per day (about 2 percent) less than December 2016.