* Revolt has wiped out around half of Libya's oil output
* OPEC concerned but says has ample oil to cover Libya
* Arab League says Libyan peace plan under consideration
* Rebels show no intention of negotiating with Gaddafi
(Updates prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday,
with North Sea Brent crude dropping below $115 after the Arab
League said a peace plan for Libya was under consideration.
The uprising against Muammar Gaddafi has reduced Libya's oil
production by around half, industry officials estimate, and
anything that helped restore output would help calm oil markets.
But analysts and traders were sceptical over the prospect of
any immediate end to fighting in Libya, where Gaddafi faces an
increasingly organised and confident rebel army. []
Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was concerned about the
turmoil in Libya but had sufficient oil to cover any shortfall
caused by the rebellion there. []
Brent crude futures for April <LCOc1> hit an intra-day low
of $113.09 a barrel, down over $3 on the day, before rebounding
to around $114.50 by 1500 GMT, still down $1.85.
U.S. crude futures for April <CLc1> were down 60 cents at
$101.63, after hitting a low of $100.37. The contract settled at
$102.23 a barrel in the previous session, ending above $100 for
the first time since September 2008.
"The 'peace plan' for Libya obviously knocked the market
lower but it doesn't seem to be having more than a passing
impact on prices, which will probably head higher again," said
Cartsen Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Thursday a
peace plan for Libya from Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was
"under consideration." []
News network Al Jazeera said earlier the plan would involve
a commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East
trying to reach a negotiated outcome between Gaddafi and rebel
forces for the country. []
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Reuters Insider show on Libyan oil company head interview:
http://link.reuters.com/jys38r
Graphics showing:
Middle East unrest http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
Oil price shocks http://r.reuters.com/qes28r
Countries most reliant on oil http://r.reuters.com/dux28r
Calculator: Oil impact on GDP http://r.reuters.com/jux28r
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RISK TO LIBYAN INFRASTRUCTURE
But a leader of the uprising against Gaddafi's 41-year-old
rule said he would reject any plan for talks with Gaddafi to end
the conflict in the world's 12th largest oil exporting nation.
Analysts said they saw little chance any Chavez-backed plan
would succeed and added they were worried about damage to Libyan
oil infrastructure as a result of the fighting.
"I don't think that another relatively extreme leader who is
an ally to Gaddafi has a chance to be accepted as a
peace-broker. It's very unlikely to work," said Samuel Ciszuk,
Middle East analyst at IHS Energy in London.
"It has become likely that Libyan fighting will affect, and
potentially destroy, oil infrastructure serving the country's
largest, central basin, which is right on the fault line between
Gaddafi loyalists and rebels."
Libyan output has fallen to 700,000-750,000 barrels per day
(bpd) as most foreign oil workers had taken flight, according to
Shokri Ghanem, the head of the North African producer's state
oil company. [].
Concern the conflict might disrupt more Libyan output and
that protests in the region may interrupt supply from other
major producers has spurred oil prices to two-and-half-year
highs. Brent rose to near $120 a barrel on Feb. 24.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
