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To: The Ox who wrote (25491)	7/10/1998 6:18:00 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Respond to of 95453

Updated Fri Jul 10 16:17 ET NYMEX Oil Review: Flat in range trade with eye on Nigeria By Glen C. Carey, Bridge News New York--Jly 10--NYMEX crude futures ended near unchanged in light rangebound trading as the market continues to watch for new developments in Nigeria. Aug crude settled down 1c at $13.87. Aug heating oil settled down 40 points at 37.52c, while Aug gasoline settled down 34 points at 46.81c. * * * "A lot depends on how the situation in Nigeria develops," a broker said, referring to the pending autopsy of political opponent Moshood Abiola to be performed by pathologists from the US, Canada and the UK. Abiola died on Tuesday of a heart attack while meeting with US goverment officials. Following his unexpected death, riots broke out in Lagos, Abeokuta and Ibadan that left at least 45 people dead this week. Brokers have expressed concern that the political unrest could disrupt the production of Nigeria's 2.0 million bpd of crude. When the refinery at Port Harcourt in Nigeria was shut down today for the next 3 days due to a power outage, brokers suspected that it too had to do with the political unrest. However, "the shutdown was unrelated, though it might have lended some support," a broker said. The refinery, owned by Nigeria National Petroleum Corp., has crude throughput of 150,000 bpd. While the rest of the complex weakened today, crude was also supported by reports showing OPEC June daily production fell by 314,000 bpd. "Crude is getting a boost up by OPEC numbers," a broker said. The International Energy Agency reported Thursday that OPEC countries produced an estimated 27.95 million bpd in June compared to 28.28 million bpd in May. "The market is still watching OPEC," a broker said, referring to the recent production cuts. "Once we get the Jly (production cut) numbers, people will react." According to brokers, a better-than-75% adherence to pledges to cut oil production by 2.6 million bpd will be encouraging for the market, especially at a time when crude supply is abundant. In other news, Algerian state oil company Sonatrach has confirmed that the country implemented its 30,000 bpd production cut from Jly 1, as it pledged at the OPEC meetin in Vienna. OUTLOOK: The outlook for next week remains mixed, although brokers still consider the market to be bearish. "The market is in a bearish mode and will remain in the doldrums," a broker said. The direction the market takes on Monday depends much on the outcome of Abiola's autopsy, brokers said. "People will feel more comfortable with selling once there is the autopsy," brokers said. The market is seen facing resistance at Thursday's high of $14.14. "As we get to the upside of $14.14-14.16, we will have some resistance," a trader noted. Support is pegged at Thursday's low of $13.75. UPCOMING: --NYMEX Aug crude futures expire Jly 21; Aug crude options expire Jly 16. Aug product options expire Aug 28; while Aug product futures expire Aug 31. --American Petroleum Institute weekly inventory data are released after 1600 ET Tuesday, while the US Department of Energy reports after 09000 ET Wednesday. IN THE NEWS: Number Headline ------ -------- .15413 Venezuela's Izaguiree sees oil prices near $12.50 2nd half '98 .14334 Nigeria 150,000 bpd Port Harcourt refinery seen dn since Wed .14237 Colombia Cano Limon Oil pipeline in operation by 1800 ET .13226 Saudi prince to pay "courtesy" call to Clinton today IN NYMEX TRADING TODAY: CONTRACT MONTH TICKER SETTLEMENT CHANGE TOTAL EST. VOLUME Futures Options Crude Aug CLQ8 $13.87/bbl - 1c 80,642 13,265 Sep CLU8 $14.40/bbl - 8c Heating Oil Aug HOQ8 37.52c/gal - 40 pts 24,056 2,397 Sep HOU8 38.93c/gal - 33 pts Gasoline Aug HUQ8 46.81c/gal - 34 pts 16,745 423 Sep HUU8 47.26c/gal - 37 pts Brent Aug OILQ8 $12.86/bbl - 17c Sep OILU8 $13.09/bbl - 19c End