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.

The Brent crude contract for July on London's ICE was up $1.14 to $48.97/bbl. The August contract gained $1.29 to $49.43/bbl. The June gas oil contract gained $11.50 to $430.25/tonne.

Many companies on the teetering on the brink of insolvency find themselves buried under high interest rates and lack of deployable capital due to low commodity prices. Many banks have cut oil company credit lines as part of the semi-annual review by lenders. But the combined $8.9 billion in debt between the eighteen companies still looms ever menacingly in the background.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is Russia’s business climate. While frequently fodder for criticism, there’s progress. Russia has surged by 61 spots in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index since 2013 to 51st this year.

The head of Russian oil major Lukoil said on Wednesday that he sees oil prices rising above $50 per barrel by the end of the year, RIA news agency reported, citing his TV interview.

Global oil demand growth for 1Q16 was revised upwards to 1.4 mb/d, led higher by strong gains in India, China and, more surprisingly, Russia. For the year as a whole, growth will be around 1.2 mb/d, with demand reaching 95.9 mb/d.