Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, rose 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $51.62 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.71 a barrel.

Barclays Commodities Research said its analysts still believe oil prices could rise to $60/bbl in the second quarter assuming inventory draws and the OPEC production cut remains in place. “However, this would likely be temporary, and we forecast prices in the mid $50s/bbl in the second half 2017,” Barclays said.

U.S. Rig Count is up 345 rigs from last year's count of 464, with oil rigs up 280, gas rigs up 63, and miscellaneous rigs up 2. Canadian Rig Count is up 130 rigs from last year's count of 55, with oil rigs up 59 and gas rigs up 70, and miscellaneous rigs up 1.

Total petroleum deliveries moved up by 1.2 percent from the prior year to nearly 19.3 million barrels per day in January 2017. These were the highest January deliveries in nine years, since 2008.

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.

PETROBRAS - Net income of R$ 2,510 million in 4Q16, compared to a loss of R$ 16,458 million in 3Q-2016

Benchmark Brent crude was down 82 cents at $50.14 per barrel at 0936 GMT (5:36 a.m. ET), after dropping to $50.05, its lowest level since OPEC announced on Nov. 30 its plan for cuts. The deal with non-OPEC states was reached in December. U.S. light crude was down 70 cents at $47.54 a barrel, also slipping toward a three-month low.

The NYMEX April natural gas contract continued to march higher Tuesday, climbing 5.2 cents to settle at $3.093/MMBtu on a tightening supply-demand balance characterized by strong LNG feedgas deliveries, March demand above year-ago levels and a 2.8 Bcf/d year-on-year dip in production.

The crude oil contract for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 56¢ on Mar. 20 to $48.22/bbl. The May contract fell by 40¢ to $48.91/bbl. The Brent crude contract for May on London’s ICE decreased 14¢ to $51.62/bbl. The June contract dropped 16¢ to $51.79/bbl. The gas oil contract settled at 458.50/tonne on Mar. 20, up $1.75. The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Mar. 20 was $49.18/bbl, down 18¢.

In this difficult environment, the Group demonstrated its resilience by generating adjusted net income of $8.3 billion and had the highest profitability among the majors due to the strength of its integrated model and commitment of its teams to reduce the breakeven.

If the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries maintains its output cuts and nothing changes elsewhere, demand should overtake supply in this year’s first half, generating an implied market deficit of 500,000 b/d.

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.

Nabors Industries Ltd. ("Nabors") (NYSE: NBR) reported full-year 2016 operating revenue of $2.2 billion, compared to operating revenue of $3.9 billion in the prior year, which included $366 million in revenue from the Completion and Production Services segment (NCPS), a business line that merged with C&J Energy Services, Inc. (CJES) on March 24, 2015 and ceased to be consolidated with Nabors on that date. Net income from continuing operations for the year was a loss of $1.0 billion, or $3.58 per share, compared to a loss of $330 million, or $1.14 per share, in FY 2015. Included in the net loss from continuing operations for full year 2016 were total after-tax impairments and other charges of $487 million, or $1.71 per share, as well as $0.80 per share in Nabors' proportional share of CJES' net loss for the period. This compares to prior year impairments and other charges of $380 million, or $1.31 per share, and $0.29 per diluted share for the company's proportional share of CJES' net loss.

U.S. Rig Count is up 313 rigs from last year's count of 476, with oil rigs up 244, gas rigs up 68, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 207 rigs from last year's count of 69, with oil rigs up 137, gas rigs up 68, and miscellaneous rigs up 2.

Global oil supply could struggle to keep pace with demand after 2020, risking a sharp increase in prices, unless new projects are approved soon, according to the latest five-year oil market forecast.