Oil futures jumped 31 percent this year, climbing above $50 a barrel last week, as U.S. crude stockpiles declined, trimming a glut. Robust demand in India and other emerging nations led the International Energy Agency in May to reduce its estimate of the global oil surplus for the first half. Brent last traded above $60 in July.

“We’re facing a chance of a lifetime to become a global pricing center for commodities,” Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the Shanghai Futures Exchange’s annual conference in the city on Wednesday. “On the way to realize this goal, we’ll see very intense competition. We have the advantage of trading size and economic growth, but our legislation is still not sound and we lack enough talent.”

Over the last decade “many solutions had been tested and some, such as Europe’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), were only partially successful.”

Thanks to industry innovation and technological advancements, we’ve transitioned from an era of energy scarcity to an era of energy abundance. The new challenge is to keep moving forward, not backward. We must continue to think long term - continue to ensure access to new areas for safe and responsible energy development, and invest in reliable energy infrastructure - to protect U.S. consumers, businesses and national security for generations to come.

Khelil expects prices to increase to $70 to $80 a barrel or more after oil majors abandoned or shelved projects. Still, that rebound risks reviving U.S. shale drillers, said the two-time president of OPEC.

Brent LCOc1 fell 1.3 percent, or 64 cents, to $48.95 a barrel by 1031 GMT, retreating from the previous session's $50.51 peak, its highest since early November. U.S. crude CLc1 dropped 45 cents to $49.03 a barrel after touching $50.21 on Thursday, its highest since early October.

Futures rose as much as 1.4 percent in New York after climbing 1.1 percent Tuesday. Inventories dropped by 5.14 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Data from the Energy Information Administration Wednesday is forecast to show supplies fell. Canadian oil-sands producers that cut more than 1 million barrels a day from the market because of the threat of wildfires are starting the process of resuming operations.

With most companies indicating continued reductions in E&D budgets absent a meaningful increase in crude oil prices, proved reserves additions will likely continue to decline.

Oil companies operating in Norway expect to spend 153.2 billion kroner ($18.47 billion) on exploration and production next year, the weakest figure since 2011 and nearly a third below the sector’s all-time high of NOK220.7 billion two years ago. In 2016, they expect to spend NOK165.9 billion on exploration and production, down from NOK195.4 billion a year earlier and 1% below a similar estimate made in February.

Brent futures rose 50 cents to $49.11 a barrel, having closed 26 cents up previously to snap a four-day slide.

Now, under the economic plan known as Vision 2030 promoted by the king’s powerful son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the government is signaling it wants to wean the kingdom’s economy off oil revenue, lessening the need to manage prices.

Speaking from his high-rise office in the capital, Doha, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said a minimum price of $65 a barrel is "badly needed at the moment." He cautioned that the security of future supplies is as risk because of the price slump that has squeezed oil producers since 2014.

The sharp drop in oil prices over the past two years has led companies including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell to sharply reduce budgets, particularly for exploration, where spending fell in 2015 to around 95 billion from $168 billion two years earlier, according to Morgan Stanley.

BP has the lowest amount of pre-FID (final investment decision) resource, which leads to the weakest future growth rates.

Brent futures LCOc1 were down 18 cents at $48.54 a barrel as of 0421 GMT, after ending the previous session 9 cents down. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 26 cents to $48.15 a barrel, having settled down 41 cents in the previous session.