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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amelia Carhartt who wrote (28168)	8/22/1998 7:57:00 PM
From: Captain James T. Kirk	Respond to of 95453

Friday August 21, 6:40 pm Eastern Time FOCUS-Oil eases despite U.S. raids, producer trio By Andrew Mitchell LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped back on Friday as traders concluded that U.S. missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan posed no immediate threat to oil supplies. Benchmark Brent crude was trading down nine cents at $12.55 by 1406 GMT, a dollar up from 10-year lows touched last week. Prices are stuck more than a third below last year's average value, laid low by an immense global stock surplus even though producers have pledged three million barrels per day (bpd) of output cuts this year. Venezuela on Friday announced that it would meet Mexico and Saudi Arabia - its partners in spearheading this year's cuts - on August 28 in an unnamed Latin American venue. Prices made only a modest rebound on the news. Mexico and Venezuela have previously ruled out making new cuts at this meeting. While Thursday's U.S. missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan dominated headlines around the world, neither country contributes significantly to world oil supply, and prices saw little benefit from the crisis. ''Given that the targets are not oil exporters and that the U.S. and Iran have forged much closer links over the past year, the reality is that these strikes should not dent U.S. or world supplies by one barrel,'' said Leslie Nicholas of London brokers GNI. The main threats are to a Sudanese oil development by Canada's firm Talisman Energy (TLM.TO - news) and on long-term plans to pipe energy from the Caspian region east through Afghanistan. Prices got some support from supply disruptions in Africa's biggest producer, Nigeria, where Shell has been forced to alert lifters of possible cancellations to three days worth of exports from its Bonny Terminal. Problems at various southeast Nigerian fields has resulted in a drop in output of about 260,000 bpd, more than a tenth of Nigeria's total output. Oil companies in the Niger Delta have faced a rash of sabotage attacks from disaffected communities which often demand compensation for oil pollution. Nigeria has already cut production to comply with the producer cuts package aimed at fostering a price recovery. The nine-month price depression means exports cartel OPEC is facing a $50 billion plunge in export income this year. Revenues are on course to reach just $97 billion from $148 billion in 1997. Producers' concern was underlined by Kuwait's announcement on Thursday that it would consider increasing production cuts in October, taking it beyond its pledges in the producer pacts. October cuts of 80,000 bpd, resulting from planned refinery maintenance, would bring Kuwaiti output down to 1.90 million bpd. Officials said that the new cuts could outlast the refinery shutdowns. Prices in dollars per barrel: Aug 21 Aug 20 (1407 GMT) (close) IPE October Brent 12.55 12.54 NYMEX October light crude 13.72 13.80