UPDATE 9-Oil shoots up on Earl threat, rig explosion

                                
 * EIA says hurricane threatens East Coast refineries
                                
 * Equities gain on data, help lift crude futures
                                
 * Mariner Energy <ME.N> facility off Louisiana on fire
                                
 * Coming Up: August nonfarm payroll data on Friday
                                
 (Updates with prices, details)
                                
 By Gene Ramos
                                
 NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose on Thursday as
Hurricane Earl threatened U.S. East Coast refineries and an explosion hit
an offshore oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
                                
 News that an oil and gas rig owned by Mariner Energy Inc <ME.N> off the
coast of Louisiana was on fire Thursday, sparked buying before midday. For
full story see [ID:nN02220827]
                                
 Oil got further support from concerns about Hurricane Earl, which was
threatening 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity along
the East Coast. [ID:nWNA8910]
                                
 Canadian energy companies were also preparing for the storm, with
EnCana Corp suspending workers on a drilling rig.
                                
 The latest advisory by National Hurricane Center showed the hurricane
was about 300 miles (483 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina, with winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph). [ID:nN02218351]
 (Graphic; http://link.reuters.com/san78n)
                                
 U.S. crude settled up $1.11 at $75.02 a barrel. ICE Brent gained 61
cents to $76.96, with its premium to U.S. crude remaining elevated because
of bloated U.S. inventories.
                                
 With refineries threatened, U.S. gasoline futures led energy gains on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline for October delivery <RBV0> was
up 3.25 cents at $1.9219 a gallon.
                                
 "The market was generally heading lower before the Mariner Platform
news broke -- at the point we did see a shift in the market as it created a
degree of uncertainty, though prices do remain volatile," said Stephen
Schork of The Schork Report daily trading note in Pennsylvania.
                                
 Earlier, crude futures bounced back from session lows after data on
jobless benefit claims and home sales lifted Wall Street. [ID:nN02226684]
The upbeat economic data shored up equities.
                                
 "These are further signs the economy is not slipping into a recession
albeit growth still looks quite slow," Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura
Securities International in New York.
                                
 In the currency markets, the U.S. dollar was down 0.1 percent against a
basket of currencies. <.DXY>
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  LINKS:
                                
  Latest news on hurricanes:
                                
  http://www.reuters.com/subjects/hurricanes
                                
  Link to National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
                                
  Link to weather models: http://www.skeetobiteweather.com/
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 However, traders remained cautious ahead of Friday's key nonfarm
payrolls and unemployment data that could shed further light on the status
of the economic recovery. As a result, gains were limited.
 (Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons, David Sheppard,
Eileen Moustakis in New York; Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols in Houston; Alex
Lawler and Joe Brock in London; and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
Editing by John Picinich and Sofina Mirza-Reid)