* Oil firmer near $117 after losing more than $2
* Gustav expected to enter the Gulf as major hurricane
* Focus on OPEC, Georgia tensions ahead of U.S. holiday
(Updates prices, adds graphic, comment, details)
By Osamu Tsukimori
TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $1 to $117 a
barrel on Friday, as energy companies prepared for Tropical
Storm Gustav to deliver what could be the hardest hit to the
heart of U.S. offshore production since the devastating 2005
hurricane season.
Crude for October delivery <CLc1> was rose $1.41 or 1.2
percent to $117 a barrel by 0705 GMT, after rising as high as
$117.15 earlier.
That pared Thursday's loss of $2.56, triggered by a pledge
from the U.S. government and the International Energy Agency to
release emergency stockpiles if Tropical Storm Gustav disrupted
U.S. oil production.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose $1.35 to $115.52 a barrel.
Tropical Storm Gustav was forecast to strengthen into a
hurricane by Friday as it neared the Gulf of Mexico, home to a
quarter of U.S. crude oil production and 15 percent of its
natural gas output. []
Gustav was 35 miles (55 kilometres) west-southwest of
Kingston, Jamaica, at 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT Friday).
For a graphic showing Gustav's trajectory, please click on:
https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/gustav.jpg
Forecasters said the storm could intensify rapidly and "it
would be no surprise" if Gustav within 72 hours became a
Category 4 or 5 hurricane, the most severe on the hurricane
intensity scale.
Electronic trading was relatively calm ahead of the U.S.
Labour Day holiday on Monday, when NYMEX floor trading will be
closed. Electronic trading on Globex will not be affected.
"Amid thin trading, it is a given never to find yourself in
short positions," said Akira Kamiyama, derivatives trader at
Mitsui & Co.
Oil companies were preparing platforms for the storm,
expected to enter the Gulf as a major hurricane on Sunday and
possibly reach catastrophic strength. []
Shell Oil Co <RDSa.L>, the largest producer in the Gulf of
Mexico, said on Thursday it expects to shut all of its Gulf of
Mexico production over the next two days as it evacuates
workers from offshore platforms. []
Anadarko Petroleum Corp <APC.N> said it expects to shut all
its production, including the Independence Hub, the largest
offshore natural gas processing facility, by Sunday.
Forecaster Planalytics said any damage to offshore
platforms would not be long lasting, after predicting on
Wednesday that up to 85 percent of the Gulf's oil and natural
gas production could be shut in by Gustav.
Further support came after UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph
reported on Friday that the Russian government had told at
least one of its oil companies to prepare for a possible cut in
shipments to Europe in days in response to threatened
sanctions, citing a single unidentified source. []
"If this (news) were fully taken into account, oil should
be up by more than $1," said Makoto Takeda, energy analyst at
Bansei Securities in Tokyo. "The market is responding calmly. I
don't think the market is seriously picturing that such a big
sanction as reported is on the horizon."
As Gustav churned through the Caribbean, Tropical Storm
Hanna formed in the Atlantic Ocean, on a path that could
threaten the Bahamas and Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said.
The dollar retreated against a basket of currencies on
Friday as some investors booked profits on the greenback's rise
a day earlier on data showing the U.S. economy had grown at a
faster pace than initially thought during the second quarter.
[]
Traders were also eyeing an OPEC meeting scheduled for
Sept. 9 in Vienna, as well as escalating tensions between
Russia and Georgia.
OPEC could cut output at a meeting in September but will
most likely maintain current production levels, Venezuela's Oil
Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Thursday. []
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)
