Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 50 cents a barrel at $55.62 per barrel by 1130 GMT. U.S. light crude CLc1 was 50 cents higher at $52.84 a barrel.

The executives predicted slower growth as “they forecast oil prices to take a long time to rebound to US$70 per barrel,” the point at which prices started to plunge two years ago, said Wu Yi, DNV’s business development manager for China, South Korea and Japan.

Maersk delivered an unsatisfactory loss of USD 1.9bn (profit of USD 925m) negatively impacted by post-tax impairments of USD 2.8bn (USD 2.6bn) primarily relating to Maersk Drilling of USD 1.4bn (USD 27m) and Maersk Supply Service of USD 1.2bn (USD 0m). In line with the latest guidance provided in November, the under lying profit came at USD 711m (USD 3.1bn). The return on invested capital (ROIC) was negative 2.7% (positive 2.9%). The free cash flow was negative USD 29m (positive USD 6.6bn including the sale of shares in Danske Bank of USD 4.9bn).

‘‘Suncor generated $2.4 billion in cash in the fourth quarter thanks to strong contributions from all of our assets and our focus on cost management,’’ said Steve Williams, president and chief executive officer. ‘‘Reliable performance throughout the year has helped us overcome challenging crude pricing and the major production outage associated with the Fort McMurray forest fires, resulting in annual cash flow significantly exceeding our annual sustaining capital and dividend commitments.’’

International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at 54.70 per barrel at 0758 GMT, down 35 cents, or 0.64 percent, from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $51.68 a barrel, down 49 cents, or 0.94 percent.

EIA forecasts Brent crude oil prices to average $55/b in 2017 and $57/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average about $1/b less than Brent prices in 2017. The NYMEX contract values for April 2017 delivery traded during the five-day period ending February 2 suggest that a range from $45/b to $65/b encompasses the market expectation of WTI prices in April 2017 at the 95% confidence level.

The NYMEX March natural gas futures contract settled 8 cents higher at $3.130/MMBtu on Tuesday, on the heels of a slide that saw the prompt month shed nearly 13 cents across two trading days.

Saudi Arabia's crude oil supplies to Japan rose to a 10-year high in 2016, underlining the kingdom's strong will to defend its share in the ever competitive Asian markets.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $44.3 billion in December, down $1.5 billion from $45.7 billion in November, revised. December exports were $190.7 billion, $5.0 billion more than November exports. December imports were $235.0 billion, $3.6 billion more than November imports.

International Brent crude futures were trading at $56.96 per barrel at 0750 GMT, up 15 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18 cents at $54.01 a barrel.

For the full year of 2016 the RC loss was $999 million, compared with a loss of $5,162 million for the full year of 2015. Both periods were impacted by charges associated with the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill following the settlement of federal, state and local government claims in 2015 and additional provisions this year, when a reliable estimate for the remaining material liabilities was determined. After adjusting for a net charge for non-operating items of $2,828 million and net unfavourable fair value accounting effects of $756 million (both on a post-tax basis), underlying RC profit for the full year was $2,585 million, compared with $5,905 million for the same period in 2015, predominantly due to lower results in the Upstream and Downstream segments.

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) reported a fourth quarter 2016 net loss of $714 million, or $1.90 per share. Excluding other items, net loss for the quarter was $57 million, or $0.15 per share. Other items totaled $706 million, pretax, and were primarily associated with inventory charges, facility closures, and severance.

The worldwide rig count for January 2017 was 1,918, up 146 from the 1,772 counted in December 2016, and up 27 from the 1,891 counted in January 2016.

International Brent crude futures were trading at $56.96 per barrel at 0750 GMT, up 15 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18 cents at $54.01 a barrel.

U.S. Rig Count is up 158 rigs from last year's count of 571, with oil rigs up 116, gas rigs up 41, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 101 rigs from last year's count of 242, with oil rigs up 66 and gas rigs up 35.