NYMEX crude opens 49 cents higher on Nigeria strike woes

New York (Platts)--13Sep2006

October crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange opened 49 cents
higher at $64.25/barrel Wednesday on news that ExxonMobil suspended loadings
at its Qua Ibo terminal in Nigeria and ahead of this week's petroleum
inventory data.

Analysts polled by Platts were projecting a 1.9 million barrel draw in US
commercial crude stocks, a 1 million barrel build in gasoline inventories and
a 2 million barrel increase in distillates. The data will be released by the
Energy Information Administration and American Petroleum Institute at 10:30
a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).

"The markets have at least paused in their recent downtrend in overnight
trade, with at least a modest bid under the market from bears willing to cash
in some profits ahead of the numbers," Tim Evans, energy analyst at CitiGroup,
said in a report.

October unleaded gasoline opened 2.04 cents higher at $1.5725/gal and
October RBOB opened 1.87 cents higher at $1.6270/gal. October heating oil
opened 1.28 cents higher at $1.7725/gal.

Nigeria's state oil company earlier said Wednesday that the first day of
a three-day warning strike by oil union workers to protest violence in the
Niger Delta was having no immediate effect on crude export loadings.

"As far as I am aware, some of the terminals have not been adversely
affected and crude barrels are loading," a crude oil marketing official from
NNPC said.

An ExxonMobil official said earlier Wednesday that the strike had halted
loadings at its 700,000 b/d Qua Iboe terminal

Oil companies said staff were complying with the strike called by the
Nupeng and Pengassan unions to protest ongoing violence in the Niger Delta.
Union members monitor quality and volumes at crude export terminals operated
by Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Eni.

--Linda Rafield, linda_rafield@platts.com

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