* Saudi Aramco comments reassure nervous market
* Oman latest producer to be hit by Mid East protests
* Libyan oil exports disrupted by uprising against Gaddafi
* Coming Up: Chicago PMI, 1445 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Nia Williams and Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices turned lower on Monday
as reassurances from Saudi Arabia that extra supply needs had
been met soothed market fears over the spread of protests to
oil-producer Oman.
Violent uprisings in OPEC member Libya dramatically reduced
exports from North Africa, but Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid al-Falih
told reporters on Monday the shortfall had been made up.
[]
Falih refused to give exact figures, but an industry source
on Friday said the top exporter's output had risen to more than
9 million barrels per day (bpd). This compared with roughly 8.3
million bpd in January, according to a Reuters survey. []
By 1049 GMT Brent futures for April <LCOc1> were 3 cents
lower at $112.11 a barrel. U.S. crude <CLc1> was 1 cent down at
$97.87 a barrel. Both benchmarks posted their highest weekly
close in two-and-a-half years last week.
"Saudi Arabia saying they are replacing more or less what
has been lost from Libya is calming the market this morning,"
said Cristin Tuxen, senior commodities analyst at Danske Bank,
who warned prices could easily rally again if the situation in
the Middle East deteriorated.
"We saw how nervous the market was when we saw the spike
last week to $120 a barrel (for Brent). It really highlights
that the risk premia related to geo-politics in the region is
changing hour by hour."
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OMAN
Prices for both benchmarks had earlier jumped a dollar
higher on the day as Oman became the latest producer to feel the
impact of the regional unrest, although its oil flow has not
been affected.
Omani oil is equivalent to about 1 percent of global oil
consumption, and any disruption could be expected to have an
impact on oil prices.
Protesters blocked roads into the industrial area of Oman's
refined product export port Sohar on Monday. Product shipments
continued unhindered, a port spokeswoman said.
Oman produces around 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) and its
crude forms part of benchmark used to price more than 10 million
bpd of crude shipped from the Middle East to Asia.
The uprising in Libya has shut in as much as three-quarters
of its output of 1.6 million bpd, according to some estimates.
Iran's oil minister urged Saudi Arabia on Sunday to refrain
from taking a hasty decision on increasing its oil production
after the popular uprising in Libya, the official IRNA news
agency reported. []
Iran is also selling more crude to refiners looking for
alternatives to Libyan supplies. []
Traders were looking ahead to manufacturing data to be
released from the United States and China on Tuesday. A weak
dollar, which on Monday hit a 3 1/2-month low against a currency
basket <.DXY> was cited as another factor supporting oil prices.
(Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; editing
by Jane Baird)
