Global oil prices will witness "much more volatility" in 2017 even though markets may rebalance in the first half of the year if output cuts pledged by producers are implemented.

The world could run short of oil by 2020 due to the recent sharp global downturn in upstream investment, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Thursday.

Suhail Al Mazrouei said on Wednesday that Opec and non-Opec producers who have agreed to restrict their output over the next six months need to demonstrate that they are being implemented in order for their initiative to stabilise oil prices.

For every one dollar reduction in the price of oil, Russia suffers a staggering two billion dollar loss in its revenue. On top of the economic sanctions slapped on Russia following the annexation of Crimea, one may consider the record Russian oil production of 11.247 mbpd nothing short of a miracle.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up 50 cents at $55.60 a barrel by 1050 GMT (5:50 a.m. ET). U.S. crude CLc1 was up 35 cents at $52.60.

The end of the global commodity super-cycle, particularly the sharp drop in oil prices - Russia’s main export -caused the Russian economy to slip into recession, ushering in a period of difficult economic adjustment. Limited economic diversification and heavy reliance on oil have made Russia vulnerable to terms-of-trade shocks.

Prices for Brent futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $53.73 per barrel at 0508 GMT, up 9 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $50.97 a barrel, up 15 cents.

Brent crude oil prices are forecast to average $53/b in 2017 and $56/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average $1/b less than Brent in both 2017 and 2018.

Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.84 per barrel at 0535 GMT (00.35 a.m. ET), down 26 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were trading at $53.70 per barrel, down 29 cents.

Saudi Arabia has cut its crude-oil production by at least 486,000 barrels a day since October, said a person familiar with the kingdom’s output, bringing the world’s largest exporter of petroleum swiftly into line with OPEC’s deal to raise prices.

Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was up 50 cents a barrel at $56.96 by 1440 GMT (9:40 a.m. ET). U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 45 cents a barrel at $53.71. Both contracts rose by around 2 percent on Wednesday.

В 2017 году цена на нефть будет в диапазоне 55 - долларов за баррель.

U.S. benchmark West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 23 cents to $54.00 at 0746 GMT. Brent front-month March crude oil futures rose 31 cents to $57.16.

U.S. light crude was down 20 cents at $53.86 by 0930 GMT (4:30 a.m. ET), while North Sea Brent crude was up 5 cents at $56.27 a barrel.

The analysts predicting that Brent will average $58 a barrel next year expect $53 in the first quarter and $56 in the second. West Texas Intermediate will be about $1.40 cheaper than Brent in 2017, the estimates show. WTI settled at $53.90 in New York on Tuesday.