Russia, Saudi Arabia and other major oil exporters met in Doha in April in a bid to stabilize global markets by putting caps on output. The effort collapsed as Saudi Arabia demanded that rival Iran join the pact. At the time, Iran had ruled out any limits as it ramped up production after the lifting of international sanctions.

Greenspan sees oil trading in a range of about $40 to $50 a barrel over the next couple of years. A $50 price would be high enough to encourage new shale oil production in the U.S., he said. Oil futures traded near $42 a barrel in New York on Thursday, down from a 2016 closing high of $51.23 on June 8.

“Higher oil demand is expected in the 3rd and 4th Quarters”, HE Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry and current OPEC President said, expressing positive sentiments in a brief released from OPEC.

"Growth in China's fuel exports will be strong throughout the third quarter," a Beijing-based trader said. "Refiners are starting to tighten crude runs as well as increase exports to balance the surplus in the domestic market."

Total E&P Russie, a 100% affiliate of Total group, has transferred a 20% participating interest in and the operatorship of the Production Sharing Agreement for the Development and Production of Oil in the Kharyaga Field (Kharyaga PSA) to Zarubezhneft-Production Kharyaga LLC, a subsidiary of Zarubezhneft JSC.

However, in conjunction with both lower oil prices and international sanctions, Russia has recently experienced five consecutive quarters of decline in GDP, representing that country's deepest economic downturn since 2008-09.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled up $1.32, or 3.3%, at $40.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the largest gain since July 12 and brought the U.S. benchmark within 16 cents of exiting bear-market territory. Brent, the global benchmark, gained $1.30, or 3.1%, to $43.10 a barrel, snapping a five-session losing streak.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 27 cents a barrel at $42.07 at 0957 GMT (0557 EDT). It reached $41.51 on Tuesday, the lowest since April 18. U.S. crude CLc1 added 28 cents to $39.79.

Progress will be slow. The crude glut will take a long time to dissipate, meaning only gradual price gains, said Michael Hsueh, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, will average $49.50 in the fourth quarter before breaking decisively above $50 next year, the analysts say.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $40.15 a barrel at 0433 GMT (12:33 a.m. ET) , up 9 cents from its last close after dipping below $40 for the first time since April the previous session. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $42.34 per barrel, up 20 cents from their last close.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said Sunday it will sell cargoes of Arab Light in September at $1.10 a barrel below Asia’s regional benchmark. That is a pricing cut of $1.30 from August, the biggest drop since November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company was expected to lower the pricing by $1 a barrel, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of eight refiners and traders.

Iraq reaped $3.744 billion from oil exports in July, Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said in a statement. He said average production for the month was over 3.202 million bpd.

Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января - июля 2016 года составила $38,68 за баррель.

With the oil market entering a new normal of lower prices, the price per barrel is projected to settle in the range of $53 to $60 by 2020, when supply and demand are expected to be in balance.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $42.51 at 0617 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous close, the lowest since April. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 26 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $40.88 a barrel, slipping below $41 for the first time since April.