* OPEC decides to leave output targets unchanged
* No discussion of stricter output quota compliance-Algeria
* Russia's Rosneft faces export deadlock on YUKOS injunction
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly oil stock data at 1430 GMT
(Recasts, adds graphic, updates prices, detail)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Oil extended gains to above $82
a barrel on Wednesday, rising to within $2 of this year's high
as Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister described prices as "beautiful"
and OPEC decided to leave output targets unchanged.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries, which pumps roughly one in every three barrels of
oil, agreed at their meeting in Vienna on Wednesday to keep
record output curbs of 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in
place, though higher prices have seen members pump extra oil.
Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said OPEC
had not discussed stricter quota compliance at the meeting.
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/310/OIL_OPCOM0310.gif
U.S. crude for April delivery <CLc1> was up 56 cents at
$82.26 a barrel by 1217 GMT, after settling up $1.90 at $81.70
on Tuesday. London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 69 cents to $81.22.
Since agreeing to cut output to below 25 million bpd in
December 2008 as the economic crisis intensified, OPEC has seen
prices rally from lows below $40 a barrel to a peak of $83.95 at
the start of this year.
But while prices are now above the group's target of $75 a
barrel, OPEC's Ecuadorian President Germanico Pinto said before
the meeting there was still a long way to go before the group
would feel "at ease" with the market due to fears of a
double-dip recession. []
The oil minister of Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer
and the country with the world's largest proven oil reserves,
appeared more relaxed.
Speaking before the start of the meeting, Ali al-Naimi said
global oil demand will grow by about one million bpd by the
second half of this year.
"Good demand, reliable supply, beautiful prices -- we are
very happy," Naimi said. []
Naimi has previously said prices around $75 a barrel are
necessary to encourage investment in future oil supplies to cope
with booming demand from emerging economies, and are ultimately
good for both producers and consumers.
"The world is going to need a lot energy, all kinds of
energy," Naimi said on Wednesday.
But rising prices at the pumps have threatened to squeeze
consumers still struggling in the aftermath of the worst
recession for 70 years.
Retail gasoline prices in the United States soared to their
highest level in nearly 18 months last week and could soon top
$3 a gallon, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday.
Unemployment in the world's largest energy consumer is almost 10
percent. []
ROSNEFT FACES EXPORT DEADLOCK
Oil prices were boosted further by news that Russian oil
major Rosneft <ROSN.MM> faces a possible export deadlock after
bankrupt rival YUKOS won U.S. and British court injunctions
making cash payments to the state oil company in the West very
complex, market sources said on Wednesday. []
Rosneft declined to comment on the injunctions, which trade
and industry sources said were part of a legal battle between
YUKOS and the Russian government, which dissolved YUKOS after
putting increasing pressure on the company between 2003 and
2007. Most of the assets ultimately ended up with Rosneft.
"It seems these (injunctions) affect any payment to Rosneft
in U.S. dollars. Under a worst case scenario, there could be
chaos with payments and a complete deadlock of Rosneft's
exports," said a trader with a global major.
Rosneft pumps and exports more than a fifth of Russia's
crude and its rapid growth has helped Moscow outpace Saudi
Arabia as the world's largest producer.
Prices got further support from a sharp drop in gasoline
stockpiles in the United States. Gasoline inventories fell by
3.7 million barrels last week, according to data from the
American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. Analysts polled
by Reuters forecast an 800,000 barrel drawdown. []
U.S. crude oil stockpiles also rose much less than expected,
posting gains of 403,000 barrels in the week to March 12, versus
analysts' forecasts for a 1.1 million barrel build, the API
said. The more widely watched U.S. government's report is set
for release at 1430 GMT on Wednesday. []
(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth; editing by James
Jukwey)
