U.S. Rig Count is down 3 rigs from last week to 421, with oil rigs down 7 to 330, gas rigs up 4 to 90, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. Canadian Rig Count is up 7 rigs from last week to 76, with oil rigs up 8 to 36, gas rigs down 1 to 39, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at $48.26 a barrel by 0238 GMT on Monday, after settling down $2.50, or 4.9 percent, at $48.41 on Friday. U.S. crude was down 25 cents at $47.39 a barrel, after closing down $2.47, or 4.9 percent, on Friday.

U.S. crude was down $2.77 at $47.34 a barrel at around 0314 GMT. Brent crude was down $2.75 at $48.16 a barrel.

"Such huge outflows raise a question as to whether upstream business will generate enough cash, and where capex will figure in the priority order of companies," said Andrew Slaughter, executive director, Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. "When we annualized operating cash flows of all the three company sets in 2015 for the next five years, assuming a $55/bbl average oil price, we see a total funding gap of up to $2 trillion from operations."

Global upstream development spending from 2015 to 2020 has declined 22%, or $740 billion, since fourth-quarter 2014. Including cuts to conventional exploration investment, the figure increases to just more than $1 trillion.

BP’s energy outlook this year foresees a compound annual growth rate of gas demand at 1.8% until 2035. In the OECD, this growth results from the coal-to-gas transition in power generation. The US major ExxonMobil supports this view, forecasting gas will account for 30% of the power sector and will equal coal by 2040.

"We have such low production costs that we will always be able to cut the selling price by a dollar or two when it comes to fighting off a rival," said a senior source at Gazprom.

Supply and demand for oil are coming back into balance, and the response of shale producers to rising prices will help determine how high crude can go, Christof Ruehl, the global head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, said Wednesday in an interview in Dubai. Ruehl’s view that the re-balancing will take until at least the middle of 2017 contrasts with the more optimistic outlook of some industry leaders and analysts who foresee demand nearing supply by the end of this year.

With income falling, the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) posted a combined current account deficit of $99.60 billion in 2015, compared with a surplus of $238.10 billion in 2014.

“The decline in prices is unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in production from existing producers because the high fixed costs of building the infrastructure have been paid and marginal production costs are relatively low,” said Ms Heath.

Brent crude futures were up 4 cents at $50.66 a barrel, after settling down 3 cents at $50.62 on Tuesday.

India’s economy expanded at a faster pace in financial year (FY) 2016[1] even as a number of its growth engines stalled. Agriculture – having faced two consecutive drought years – rural household consumption, private investments, and exports have not performed to potential. The oil bonanza most directly benefited the government, which for the first time in five years exceeded its revenue collection targets and used the resources to contain the fiscal deficit, transfer more resources to states, and spend more on infrastructure. Capital spending by the central government was ramped up, its efforts amplified by state governments that had additional resources from larger fiscal devolution.

“This is a critical opportunity for Indonesia to implement further reforms that will enhance the competitiveness of its manufacturing and services sectors, especially tourism. In addition to ongoing reforms, a sound industrial strategy will be key, focused on technology transfer or capacity development in terms of product design, engineering and development in promising industries. To upgrade industries and climb the technological ladder, a strong partnership with the private sector will be crucial,”

With oil prices forecast to remain low, Azerbaijan’s growth and fiscal position are likely to weaken further in 2016, posing significant risks. Financial sector vulnerabilities and an underdeveloped macroeconomic policy framework are further adding to the country’s challenges.

The U.S. crude benchmark rose 2.9% to settle at $49.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the global Brent contract gained 3% to end at $50.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe. Both contracts were rebounding after a six-day losing streak.