* Libyan air strike hits near oil terminal
* Libya's NOC chairman says oil could rise above $130
* Libyan oil output falls further amid clashes in east
* EIA report shows Cushing stocks up over 1.1 mln barrels
(Recasts, updates throughout with news of Libyan airstrike,
changes dateline from previous LONDON)
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Wednesday as
escalating violence in Libya threatened the OPEC nation's oil
infrastructure and markets braced for a potential prolonged
disruption.
Prices jumped to close in on fresh 2-1/2 year highs on news
that fresh airstrikes hit Brega, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles)
from a Libyan oil terminal, after Muammar Gaddafi launched a
land and air offensive to retake territory in Libya's east.
[] []
"It looks like an attack fairly close to what is one of
Libya's largest storage and export terminals," said Andy Lebow,
trader at MF Global in New York.
"It's hard to say if the Libyan government is trying to
target oil infrastructure in the east or whether they're just
targeting rebel held areas, but the market's reacting to this
threat either way."
Brent crude <LCOc1> traded up $1.89 to $117.31 a barrel.
Brent hit a 2-1/2 year high near $120 a barrel on Feb. 24 on
the Libyan crisis.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> rose $2.21 to $101.84 a barrel at
11:45 a.m. EST (1645 GMT).
The head of Libya's oil company, Shokri Ghanem, told
Reuters the nation's problems could push prices over $130 a
barrel if they persist. []
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To watch the Ghanem interview, click:
http://link.reuters.com/jys38r
Middle East unrest graphics http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
Who is in control in Libya http://r.reuters.com/jem28r
Map of control in Libya http://r.reuters.com/fug38r
Countries most reliant on oil http://r.reuters.com/dux28r
Calculator: Oil price impact on GDP
http://r.reuters.com/jux28r
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Crude earlier pared gains after the release of U.S. oil
inventory data from the Energy Information Administration
showed inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for
the New York Mercantile Exchange's oil futures, contract hit a
record high. []
Total inventories of both crude and refined products fell,
however.
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons, Gene Ramos, David Sheppard,
Matthew Robinson in New York; Jessica Donati-Bourne in London;
Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
