OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $58

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, OILPRICE - Brent oil eased on Wednesday following a report of a possible increase in Nigerian exports, but an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories helped keep the price within sight of this week's 26-month highs.

Turkey's repeated threat to cut oil exports from the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq pushed the price close to $60 a barrel on Monday for the first time since June 2015.

Brent November crude futures were down 14 cents at $58.30 a barrel at 0832 GMT, while U.S. crude for November delivery edged up 11 cents to $51.99.

Traders and analysts said a report from pricing agency Platts that a force majeure on exports of Bonny Light crude, scheduled to be 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month, could be lifted "very soon" was behind the loss in Brent.

However, Brent is set for a 22 percent gain in the third quarter of this year, its largest rise in the period between July and September since 2004, thanks in part to coordinated output cuts.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 rival producers, including Russia, have committed to output cuts of 1.8 million bpd between January 2017 and March 2018 to help global supply align with demand.

Brent futures are commanding their highest premium over U.S. crude in more than two years, partly because of the quick production response by U.S. shale producers to any uptick in price.

"There's pretty strong upward momentum at the moment," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, referring to a better-than-expected near-term outlook for the supply balance.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 761,000 barrels last week as refineries boosted production, while gasoline inventories increased, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday, in contrast with market expectations.

U.S. crude inventories were forecast to rise for a fourth straight week, a Reuters poll had shown.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday repeated a threat to cut off the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 bpd of crude from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan in retaliation for an independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan.

"All the ingredients are now there for a flare-up in regional tensions with Iran also weighing in on the matter," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said.

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Earlier:

September, 25, 13:25:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $56 The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by about 15 percent in the past three months. Русский | English

September, 25, 13:20:00 СОКРАЩЕНИЕ ОБЪЕМОВ ДОБЫЧИ: 116% В заявлении Министерского мониторингового комитета (ММК) стран ОПЕК и не входящих в ОПЕК государств говорится, что, согласно отчету Совместного технического комитета (СТК) стран ОПЕК и не входящих в организацию нефтедобывающих стран за август 2017 года, уровень выполнения странами ОПЕК и участвующими государствами не-ОПЕК своих добровольной корректировки объемов добычи нефти достиг исторического максимума, составив 116%. Русский

September, 22, 09:20:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $57 International benchmark Brent crude futures were at $56.51 a barrel at 0644 GMT, up 8 cents, or 0.14 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 12 cents, or 0.24 percent, at $50.67 per barrel. Русский | English

September, 20, 09:05:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $55 YET The October light, sweet crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2¢ to settle at $49.91/bbl on Sept. 18. The November contract dropped 9¢ to settle at $50.35/bbl. The NYMEX natural gas price for October rose 12¢ to $3.14/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price climbed by 11¢ to $3.10/MMbtu. Heating oil for October fell nearly 2¢ to a rounded $1.78/gal. The NYMEX reformulated gasoline blendstock for October was up less than 1¢ to $1.67/gal on Sept. 18. The Brent crude contract for November on London’s ICE fell 14¢ to $55.48/bbl. The December contract declined 17¢ to $55.25/bbl. The gas oil contract for October was $525/tonne, down $9.75. OPEC’s basket of crudes for Sept. 18 was $53.78/bbl, up 14¢. English

September, 20, 09:00:00 GAS PRICES UP TO $3.146 The NYMEX October natural gas futures contract jumped 12.2 cents Monday to settle at $3.146/MMBtu, with warmer-than-average weather expected to persist through the end of September across major demand areas. English

September, 20, 08:55:00 ЦЕНА URALS: $51,81591 Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 августа по 14 сентября 2017 года составила $51,81591 за баррель, или $378,3 за тонну. Согласно расчетам Минфина России экспортная пошлина на нефть в РФ с 1 октября 2017 года повысится на $3,8 и составит $87,9 за тонну. Русский

September, 15, 09:00:00 OIL PRICES: $50 - $60 Oil prices are expected to hold between $50 and $60 a barrel as bloated global stocks fall after a deal between OPEC and other producers to trim output, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Thursday. English