Many nations are willing to join OPEC in cutting production to secure a continued improvement in oil prices, said Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Al-Falih.

An oasis of calm in a hot region, the UAE is at once a critical geo-market and the ideal gateway to the most important oil and gas region in the world.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $50.81 per barrel at 0011 GMT, up 52 cents, or 1 percent, from their last settlement. International Brent crude futures were at $52.14 a barrel, up 46 cents, or 0.9 percent.

"We can operate in the $50 range, we have to," he said, adding that the business needs to be resilient to price cycles, can adapt and is agile.

"I don't necessarily have the view that we are setting ourselves up for a big crunch within the next 3, 4, 5 years," CEO Rex Tillerson told the Oil & Money conference.

Brent crude LCOc1 was at $51.91 per barrel at 0655 GMT, up 39 cents, or 0.76 percent from the previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 40 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $50.34 a barrel.

Brent crude oil prices are forecast to average $43/barrel (b) in 2016 and $51/b in 2017. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average about $1/b less than Brent in 2016 and in 2017. The current values of futures and options contracts suggest high uncertainty in the price outlook. NYMEX contract values for January 2017 delivery traded during the five-day period ending October 6 suggest a price range from $37/b to $68/b encompasses the market expectation of WTI prices in January 2017.

World oil demand in 2016 is seen increasing by 1.24 mb/d to average 94.40 mb/d. Positive revisions were primarily a result of higher-than-expected demand in the Other Asia region, while downward revisions were a result of lower-than-expected performance from OECD America. In 2017, world oil demand is anticipated to rise by 1.15 mb/d, to average 95.56 mb/d.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.2% to $51.91 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 0.1% at $50.21 a barrel.

December Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were down 42 cents at $52.72 a barrel by 1100 GMT, below Monday's one-year high at $53.73, but off an intraday low at $52.51, while U.S. futures CLc1 were down 43 cents at $50.92 a barrel.

"Why should we do it?" Sechin, known for his anti-OPEC position, told Reuters in Istanbul on Monday evening, when asked if Rosneft, which accounts for 40 percent of Russia's total crude oil output, might cap its own output.

"Higher production from Libya, Nigeria and Iraq are reducing the odds of such a deal rebalancing the oil market in 2017," Goldman analysts said.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 reached a high of $52.57 a barrel, not far off a one-year high of $52.86 a barrel, by 1207, up 64 cents on Friday's close. U.S. futures CLc1 also gained ground, trading at $50.32, up 51 cents.

Baker Hughes Inc., the services company that tracks drilling activity worldwide, said just 27 rigs operated last month in the North Sea, the lowest number since records started in January 1982. The previous low was set in October 1999, when oil prices plunged to $10 a barrel.

Brent LCOc1 traded at $52.11 at 1000 GMT, 40 cents down, after touching $52.84 earlier, two cents below the 2016 high. U.S. oil futures traded as high as $50.74 a barrel, a three and a half month high, before falling by 30 cents to $50.14 a barrel. On Thursday they settled at $50.44 per barrel - the first settlement above $50 since June 23.