Saudi Arabia’s voluntary oil production cut is set to help the oil market navigate through seasonally low oil demand during the first quarter, OPEC’s secretary general told an industry event

U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.1 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 240,000 bpd

In top two U.S. shale fields, oil and gas companies are profitable in the $30 per barrel to low $40s per barrel range, according to data firm Rystad Energy. This year’s higher prices could push the shale group’s cash from operations up by 32%, Rystad said

Brent crude oil prices fell as much as $1 per barrel, hit by renewed concerns about global fuel demand amid tough coronavirus lockdowns across the globe, as well as a stronger U.S. dollar

Brent crude climbed 44 cents, or 0.8%, to $54.82 a barrel by 1007 GMT, the highest since late February, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 36 cents, or 0.7%, to $51.19, also its highest level since late February

Oil production in Russia declined last year for the first time since 2008 and reached its lowest level since 2011 following a global deal to cut output and sluggish demand caused by the coronavirus, statistics showed

The rest of OPEC+ will hold output steady, meaning the group’s overall cuts would amount to around 7.05 million bpd by March, excluding the planned voluntary additional cuts from Saudi Arabia

OPEC sees plenty of downside risks for oil markets in the first half of 2021, its secretary general said, a day before meeting allies led by Russia to discuss output levels for February

Iraq aims to increase crude oil export capacity from its southern ports to 6 million barrels per day from the current 3.5 million barrels a day capacity

Russia expects to support an increase in oil production by the group, known as OPEC+, of another 500,000 barrels per day from February at next month’s summit of the leading global oil producers