"With all of the refineries coming back on stream, prices could take a bit of a tumble later on in the day. Since the end of August, barring a couple of blips, the market has been in a bit of a downtrend,"

(A broker at Bache Financial said. Brent crude futures on London's International Petroleum Exchange drifted higher early Thursday, partly reversing some of Wednesday's losses, but very few fresh headlines were driving prices).

See more industry/OPEC viewpoints at http://www.platts.com/Oil/Resources/Quote%20of%20the%20Day/