SEOUL, Mar 05 (Reuters): Oil prices rose on Monday ahead of a meeting between OPEC and US shale firms in Houston, raising expectations that oil producers would discuss further how to clear a global oil glut.
International benchmark Brent crude was up 19 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $64.56 a barrel by 0752 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 17 cents, or 0.28 percent, to $61.42 per barrel.
Oil ministers from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other global oil players were due to join CERAWeek, the largest energy industry conference, beginning on Monday.
"OPEC and Non-OPEC alliance remain at record high compliance, but with Russia continually pressuring for an exit strategy, OPEC will look to offer an olive branch to US shale," said Stephen Innes, head of trading for the Asia-Pacific region at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.
"As such, we should interpret any positive developments from the meeting as support for underlying oil price sentiment."
Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouel, the United Arab Emirates oil minister and OPEC's current president, said on Sunday that the oil cartel has not discussed rolling over production cuts until next year.
Rising US shale oil production has been a drag on the OPEC's commitment to erode a prolonged global oil glut and prop up prices.
US crude oil production has already risen past that of top exporter Saudi Arabia, to 10.28 million barrels per day (bpd).
Only Russia pumps slightly more, but the International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week it expects the United States to take Russia's seat as the world's biggest crude oil producer by 2019, at the latest.
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