«Россия сократила производство на 185 тыс. баррелей в день по сравнению с целевым показателем в 300 тыс.», - заявил Александр Новак. Глава Минэнерго подтвердил, что Россия изначально придерживалась плана по постепенному снижению добычи, и в настоящее время сокращает производство опережающими темпами.

In 2016, U.S. crude oil exports averaged 520,000 barrels per day (b/d), 55,000 b/d (12%) above the 2015 level, despite a year-over-year decline in domestic crude oil production. Even though oil exports have increased, growth in U.S. crude oil exports has slowed significantly from its pace from 2013 to 2015, when annual U.S. crude oil production grew rapidly.

Saudi Arabia has slashed the tax rate for state energy company Saudi Aramco as the company woos private investors and seeks the highest possible valuation ahead of its planned initial public offering in 2018.

Refining of crude oil into fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel has for years been the industry's problem child, having to grapple with weak and volatile profit margins as well as competition from modern refineries built in China, India and the Middle East.

Benchmark Brent crude futures fell by 33 cents, or 0.65 percent, from their last close to $50.47 per barrel by 0653 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 41 cents, or 0.85 percent, at $47.56 a barrel.

Первое, что я хочу сказать: у нас такая возможность предусмотрена самим соглашением. Есть отдельный пункт, в котором говорится, что оно может быть продлено на срок до 6 месяцев. Второе: сегодня ещё конец марта. Мы ещё не перешагнули экватор. Обмен мнениями, который состоялся среди министров, и предложение, которое прозвучало, — означают возможность всем странам изучить этот вопрос до следующей министерской встречи; дать поручения секретариату ОПЕК с тем, чтобы секретариат провёл дополнительный анализ ситуации на рынке, которая будет складываться с января по апрель; дать прогнозы исполнения в мае, в июне и на второе полугодие.

"This reaffirms the commitment of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries to continue to cooperate," the statement said.

The Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) convened in Kuwait City for its second meeting on 26 March 2017. It announced that, based on the Report of the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for the month of February 2017, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have continued their progress towards full conformity with their voluntary adjustments in production.

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.

Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $50.72 per barrel at 1255 GMT, up 16 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 20 cents at $47.90 a barrel. Brent was heading for a weekly fall of around 2 percent, while WTI was off just over 1.8 percent.

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.

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.

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.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was up 42 cents at $52.04 per barrel at 0907 GMT, rebounding from last week's three-month low of $50.25 but well below January's surge above $58 in the wake of the output cuts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 38 cents to $48.60.