OIL PRICE: ABOVE $54

REUTERS , BLOOMBERG ,  OILPRICE - Oil prices held steady on Thursday, supported by rising demand from the United States where Gulf Coast refineries are restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

But ongoing high crude output, including from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meant there were ample supplies to meet demand.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $49.12 barrel at 0146 GMT, 4 cents below their last settlement, but not far off more than three-week highs reached in the previous session.

Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, dipped 8 cents to $54.12 a barrel, though still not far from May highs reached the previous day.

U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.

As of Wednesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or about 20 percent, was shut in, although a number of the refineries, as well as petroleum handling ports, were in the process of restarting.

ANZ bank said on Thursday that U.S. crude prices should be supported "as U.S. refineries increase their oil demand as they recover from recent flooding."

Outside the United States, the bank said that the return of Libya's largest oil field to production was "less supportive" of prices.

Oil production at Libya's Sharara field, the country's largest, was resuming on Wednesday after a valve was reopened on a pipeline shut by an armed group for more than two weeks, Libyan oil industry sources said.

Overall, global oil supplies remain plentiful despite a dip in OPEC's August exports.

OPEC's crude exports in August were 25.19 million barrels per day (bpd), their lowest level since April, according to Thomson Reuters Oil Research.

Still, average 2017 levels for January-August of 25.05 million bpd were above the average 24.85 million bpd in 2016, despite OPEC's pledge to hold back supplies between January this year and March 2018.

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Earlier:

September, 6, 18:20:00 OIL PRICE: ABOVE $53 Brent LCOc1 had gained 51 cents to $53.89 a barrel by 1356 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures Clc1 were up 45 cents at $49.54 a barrel. Русский | English

September, 4, 12:40:00 OIL PRICE: NOT BELOW $ 52 Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, had fallen by almost 1 percent from their last close, or 41 cents, to $52.34 per barrel by 0655 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Clc1 crude futures were more stable, at $47.30 barrel, close to their last settlement. Русский | English

September, 4, 12:25:00 NIGERIA'S OIL PRODUCTION: 2.2 MBD The figure of around 2.2 million to 2.3 million b/d includes about 300,000 to 400,000 b/d of condensates, which implies that its current crude oil production is at the coveted 1.8 million b/d mark. English

August, 31, 12:30:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $51 The October light, sweet crude contract on NYMEX fell 13¢ on Aug. 29 to settle at $46.44/bbl while the November contract was up 4¢ to settle at $47/bbl. The NYMEX natural gas price for September gained 3.6¢ to a rounded $2.96/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price was $2.88/MMbtu, down 4¢. The Brent crude contract for October on London’s ICE was up 11¢ to $52/bbl. The November contract gained 24¢ to $51.66/bbl. The September gas oil contract was $484.50/tonne on Aug. 29, up 25¢. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of crudes on Aug. 29 was $49.51/bbl, down 35¢. Русский | English

August, 31, 12:25:00 SAUDIS - RUSSIA OIL DEAL Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia are pushing to extend their deal to limit crude oil production for another three months, which would leave the output deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in place through the end of June, people familiar with the matter said. English

August, 24, 14:20:00 OIL MARKET IS RIGHT As of July 2017, the OPEC and participating non-OPEC producing countries achieved an impressive conformity level of 94 per cent. This is a demonstration of the commitment of participating producing countries to continue their cooperation towards the rebalancing of the market. The JMMC expressed great satisfaction with the results and steady progress made towards full conformity of the production adjustments, and encouraged all participating countries to achieve full conformity, for the benefit of producers and consumers alike. The JMMC also welcomed the participation of the UAE at the recent JTC meeting, where the UAE reiterated its commitment to adhere to its production adjustments for the remaining period of the Declaration of Cooperation. English

August, 14, 14:35:00 OIL PRICES: $51 - $52 North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $48 per barrel (b) in July, $2/b higher than the June average and almost $4/b higher than in July 2016. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices to average $51/b in 2017 and $52/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average $2/b less than Brent prices in both 2017 and 2018. English