Oil edged above $66 a barrel on Friday as a fresh supply disruption in Nigeria reminded investors of the risk to oil flows from the world's eighth largest exporter.Nigeria's 50,000 barrel-per-day Okono/Okpoho oilfield, declared force majeure after eight foreign workers were kidnapped from the offshore facility on Thursday.
"Nigeria remains a major risk to supply," said Kevin Norrish of Barclays Capital. "People have got a little bit complacent about Nigeria. Overall we'd say things do look rather fraught there still."
London Brent crude, seen now as more representative of global oil prices, was up 22 cents at $66.27 a barrel by 1100 GMT. U.S. crude slipped 18 cents to $63.01.
Concern about Nigerian supply had eased on Thursday after Royal Dutch Shell said the Forcados oil export terminal might resume operations in June, more than a year after it was shut by militant attacks. Even so, Shell declined to give a precise date for when production would be restored fully. Brent has risen from a low of around $50 in January and hit a peak close to $70 in April. It has sat in a range of $65-$70 for the past month.
(Reuters, 04/05/2007)