Nigerian oil minister returns, doubters circle, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Stalled oil reforms hold key to unlocking investment

* Refining, gas, Niger Delta are major challenges

* Nigeria has vast latent petroleum potential

By Joe Brock

ABUJA, July 7 - Nigeria's returning oil minister may have the support of the president but with Africa's largest energy industry stalling she will need to show swift progress to prove her critics wrong and attract much-needed investment.

President Goodluck Jonathan showed his faith in Deziani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's first female oil minister by re-appointing her on Saturday after she spent less than a year in his cabinet prior to April's elections.

Oil surges after Libya airstrike near oil terminal, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* 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 data shows Cushing stocks up over 1.1 mln barrels
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)

NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped to near 2-1/2 year highs on Wednesday after an airstrike near Libya's oil infrastructure kept the market braced for a prolonged disruption from the OPEC nation and worried unrest might spread to other regional producers. Fresh airstrikes hit Brega, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles)from a Libyan oil terminal, after embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi launched a land and air offensive to retake territory in Libya's east. The reprisal sparked calls from rebels for foreign airstrikes on African mercenaries they said were helping him stay in power.

"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." Gaddafi pledged in a fiery speech before hundreds of supporters he would crush the revolt against his rule. By 12:35 p.m. EST (1735 GMT) Brent crude traded up $1.57 to $116.99 a barrel, off the session high of $117.81. Brent hit a
2-1/2 year high near $120 a barrel on Feb. 24 on the Libyan crisis. U.S. crude futures rose $2.05 to $101.68 a barrel after hitting $102.37. They rose above $103 on Feb. 24. Brent's premium against U.S. crude widened to more than $16, after closing at $15.79 on Tuesday, when the Brent/West
Texas Intermediate spread hit $17.12, a record.

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. Libya's normal output of 1.6 million barrels per day had been cut to 700,000-750,000 bpd as most of the industry's foreign workers had taken flight after the crisis began, he said.
Governments in Yemen, Oman, Iran and Iraq have clashed with protestors seeking reforms as popular unrest has spread in the region holding more than 60 percent of the world's oil reserve. Crude pared gains in the morning after the release of U.S. oil inventory data from the U.S. 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. Brimming stocks at the hub have been partly responsible for the wide discount of U.S. crude to Brent in recent weeks. Total U.S. inventories of both crude and refined products fell, however, the EIA report showed.

(Reporting by Gene Ramos, Robert Gibbons, David Sheppard,Matthew Robinson in New York; Jessica Donati-Bourne in London;
Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

Rebels repulse Gaddafi forces, flick V-for-victory, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Rebels say Gaddafi turns to African mercenaries
* Morgue workers say find Nigerian papers on fighter
* Brega rebels push frontline further west


By Mohammed Abbas
BREGA, Libya, March 2 (Reuters) - Rebels with anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank missiles, AK-47 assault rifles and home-made petrol bombs surged down the road into Brega on Wednesday to shore up defences after Muammar Gaddafi's forces were repulsed.

Gaddafi loyalists attacked the town, site of a vital oil terminal, earlier in the day. They were driven back by rebels who had seized control of much of Libya's oil-rich eastern region shortly after protests against Gaddafi erupted in mid-February. "We will keep fighting the Gaddafi mafia till it's gone," said Adam Nouh, an oil engineer, cheering the rebel forces on.

In Brega, six dead bodies lay in the morge. Hospital officials and volunteers pointed out four bodies of rebels and two others who they said were Gaddafi mercenaries. They said they found Nigerian identification papers on one body.

Rebels say Gaddafi has turned to African mercenaries to fight his battles for him.
Outside in the street, hundreds of people cheered, flicked "V-for-victory" signs, and some fired volleys into the air to celebrate their victory.

Witnesses said about 15 Gaddafi loyalists were killed or wounded in the assault on Brega but that the casualties were taken away by the Libyan leader's forces.
One Brega resident said the frontline was pushed towards al-Uqayla, a town 40 km (25 miles) to the west of Brega.

"People are running after them," said Hamad Sakhiri, a volunteer supporting the rebels, although not bearing arms.
Sakhiri spoke next to a crater blasted out during a air raid just half an hour earlier. It was the latest raid on Brega, which lies 780 km (490 miles) from Tripoli. Other raids had been launched on Ajdabiyah, about 70 km east of Brega.

Many soldiers deserted Gaddafi's command early in the Libyan uprising which has left him with control of Tripoli and patchy control of other areas mainly in the west. But he still commands a hefty arsenal of weapons, including warplanes.


"READY TO GO TO GOD"
Rebel troops have defended their gains, joined by ordinary Libyans determined to shake off the 41 years of Gaddafi's rule, which the Libyan leader insists gives power to the people but which many say has repressed them.

"I'm going to Brega to help our brothers there. I'm washed, I've prayed, and I'm ready to go to God. I have a family, but I want my family to have a better life, which is why I'm risking mine," said Hisham Mohammed, 33, a mechanic by trade.

Mohammed had only learned how to use a gun when protests began. His weapon was taken from a Gaddafi brigade. Though not everyone is experienced in handling a gun, rebels have their own arsenal seized from bases they now command.

A Reuters reporter saw anti-Gaddafi forces with anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank missiles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and other smaller arms. On the road between Ajdabiyah and Brega, rebels manned at least two tanks and towed heavy artillery.
Back in Ajdabiyah, hundreds of men gathered at the western entrance early on Wednesday, some to encourage rebels as they headed to the front, others waiting to pick up weapons.

Without enough weapons to go round, some had simply filled Pepsi bottles with petrol and stuffed them with cloth strips ready to light up and hurl. In Ajdabiyah hospital, seven wounded men were wheeled in to the operating room. Some were bloodied and delirious. Those who could, held up two fingers. Bystanders shouted: "Allahu Akbar" -- God is great.

(Writing by Edmund Blair in Cairo)

Stocks fall, crude surges on Egypt turmoil, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* MSCI world equity index dips from recent 29-month high
* Oil rallies on escalating Egypt violence
* European stocks, euro fall; Bunds steady


By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - World stocks fell and oil surged above $103 a barrel on Thursday as unrest in Egypt escalated, adding to concerns about inflationary pressures that could threaten the global economic recovery.

Gunmen fired on anti-government protesters in Cairo, where fighting killed six and wounded over 800 on Thursday in a fresh spike in violence over an unprecedented challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule.

Global food prices measured by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation hit their highest level since records began in 1990. Rising food costs have been a key driver of the turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia that is threatening to spill over to other countries.
This is also encouraging investors to cut back on risky assets, especially after world stocks hit 29-month highs on Wednesday.

"Everybody is watching Egypt, we are looking at Yemen too," said Christophe Barret, oil analyst at Credit Agricole.

"Mainly, it's fear of contagion to other countries... I think prices above $100 for Brent are just not sustainable, it's something that has a very strong impact on the economy, a strong impact on demand."

Investors are also eyeing European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet's news conference later in the day for further clues on how the bank plans to combat rising inflation. The MSCI world equity index fell around 0.15 percent, with many Asian players away for the Lunar New Year holidays. The Thomson Reuters global stock index was down around the same amount.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.4 percent while emerging stocks added 0.1 percent.
U.S. stock futures were down around 0.1 percent, pointing to a slightly weaker open on Wall Street later.


OIL AND INFLATION
U.S. crude oil rose 0.7 percent to $91.54 a barrel while ICE Brent crude for March rose to as high as $103.37 a barrel, its highest since Sept. 26, 2008.

Fears have grown that unrest in Egypt and Tunisia could spread to other countries in the Middle East and threaten the region's oil exports.

And higher energy, food and other commodity prices are fanning concerns that the resulting inflationary impact -- not just in fast-growing emerging markets but also in developed economies -- would squeeze corporate profits and hit the global economic recovery.

Euro zone inflation rose to 2.4 percent in January, moving further above the ECB's target. A survey showed the euro zone's dominant service sector expanded much faster than initially thought in January, albeit with some divergences among member states.
JP Morgan expects a sustained 10 percent rise in oil prices would cut global gross domestic product by 0.25 percentage points.

Bund futures were steady ahead of Trichet's news conference.
Investors are looking for hints on when euro zone interest rates might rise, given Trichet's recent warnings on the need to tackle inflationary pressures.
The dollar rose 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies while the euro lost 0.4 percent to $1.3751, having hit a 12-week high of $1.3862 on Wednesday.

(Editing by John Stonestreet)