"When these factors are taken together I can only conclude that the supplies coming from marginal barrels including shale production will not be sufficient to meet the future need for incremental capacity the mid-term," Falih said. "The market balance is already pointing in that direction," he added.

Pumping crude from seabeds thousands of feet below water is turning cheaper as producers streamline operations and prioritize drilling in core wells, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. That means oil at $50 a barrel could sustain some of these projects by next year, down from an average break-even price of about $62 in the first quarter and $75 in 2014, the energy consultancy estimates.

The historic record of 10 million barrels per day was reached during November, 1970, when US oil prices were still below 3 USD. The record was close to being surpassed in 2015 when US production peaked in April at 9.6 million barrels. Production then dropped 1 million barrels per day over 18 months as oil prices fell from above 100 to below 40 USD.

Benchmark Brent oil LCOc1 was down $1.45, or 2.8 percent, at $50.39 a barrel by 1157 GMT (7.57 a.m. ET), after earlier touching $50.13 a barrel, the weakest since May 10. U.S. light crude CLc1 traded at $48.43, down $1.23 cents, or 2.5 percent.

West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.8 percent from Friday’s closing price following the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday. OPEC and Russia’s deal to extend output limits through March was initially met with a sell-off as deeper cuts or a plan for the rest of 2018 weren’t proposed. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the strategy is working and stockpiles will drop faster in the third quarter.

In the first quarter of 2017, profit attributable to PJSC LUKOIL shareholders was 62.3 bln RUB, up 33.7% and 45.5% quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, respectively. Profit was significantly impacted by non-cash foreign exchange loss. Excluding this item, profit attributable to PJSC LUKOIL shareholders amounted to 97.1 bln RUB, a 22.7% increase year-on-year.

Brent crude futures were trading down 19 cents at $51.96 per barrel at 0857 GMT. The contract ended the previous week down nearly 3 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were also down 19 cents at $49.61 per barrel.

OPEC members and a Russia-led group of 11 non-OPEC countries on May 25th agreed to prolong production cuts for a further period of nine months, beginning from the 1st of July, in a bid to stabilise oil prices and reduce oil inventories. The recent deal was an extension of the previous agreement that was reached between the two sides last December, taking effect from 1st of January this year, to reduce production by 1.8mn barrels per day (bpd) – since when oil prices have remained relatively stable at around the $50/barrel mark.

While most big oil companies foresee a day when the world will need less crude, timing when that peak in oil demand will materialize is one of the hottest flashpoints for controversy within the industry. It’s tough to predict because changes to oil demand will hinge on future disruptive technologies, such as batteries in electric cars that will allow drivers to travel for hundreds of miles on a single charge.

Net foreign assets at the central bank shrank by $8.5 billion from the previous month to $492.9 billion in April, reaching their lowest level since 2011, central bank figures showed on Sunday. They fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017 , according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.1 percent.

U.S. Rig Count is up 504 rigs from last year's count of 404, with oil rigs up 406, gas rigs up 98, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Canadian Rig Count is up 50 rigs from last year's count of 43, with oil rigs up 26, gas rigs up 25, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0.

OPEC Member Countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan, taking into account the decision reached by OPEC at the 172nd Meeting of the Conference, recognized the need for continuing cooperation among oil exporting countries in order to achieve a lasting stability in the oil market.

No one envies the Saudi Arabians now. Yes, the Brent price has rebounded from its of 2015-16 lows to stabilise over $50. At the Opec meeting in Vienna this week the delegates agreed to extend production curbs for another nine months.

Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies meet in Vienna to decide whether to prolong their agreement. Major producers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq favor an extension for nine months and, while other options will be discussed, consensus is building around an agreement that runs through next March.