* Nigerian rebels say blow up Shell wellhead in Niger Delta
* Nigeria offers to free rebel leader if he accepts amnesty
* Nigerian forces say to observe ceasefire August-October
(Updates prices, detail, comment)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Oil ticked up above $70 a barrel
on Friday after Nigerian rebels said they blew up a wellhead in
a Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> oilfield and as equity markets
rallied on perceptions the global recession was easing.
The move followed a 2 percent gain on Thursday and put oil
on course for a 4 percent gain this month, buoyed by prospects
for an economic recovery that has lifted prices from below $40
over the past four months.
The release of the June consumer sentiment index by the
Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers at 1355 GMT
was expected to reflect a mildly improving outlook for the U.S.
economy, auguring well for ailing world energy demand.
By 1216 GMT, benchmark August U.S. crude oil <CLc1> was up 3
cents per barrel at $70.26, having hit a high of $71.29, up
$1.06. London Brent <LCOc1> rose 2 cents to $69.80.
Nigeria's Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND) said it attacked the wellhead in the Afremo oilfield
because the military had gone on a "punitive expedition" in
Delta state shortly after President Umaru Yar'Adua announced an
amnesty offer for rebels. []
Shell said it was investigating reports of an attack on its
Afremo platform B facility, which had already been shut down
following an attack on the Trans Escravos pipeline in February.
AMNESTY
Afremo was one of the sites MEND also said it had attacked
in a triple raid on Sunday. It described the field as being 14
miles from an export terminal through which crude oil from
Shell's Forcados fields is pumped.
Nigerian security forces said they would halt fighting
during a government amnesty period for militants from Aug. 6
until Oct. 4 and would also release suspected rebel leader Henry
Okah, who is on trial for gun-running and treason, if he
accepted the amnesty offer. []
"There's a lot of focus on the Nigerian situation," said oil
broker Christopher Bellew at Bache Commodities in London. "Talk
of an amnesty helped bring the market off its earlier gains."
Pipeline bombings, attacks on oil and gas installations and
the kidnapping of industry workers over the past three years
have prevented Nigeria from pumping much above two thirds of its
installed oil output capacity of 3 million barrels per day.
The intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria have taken the
oil market by surprise and tightened West African oil supplies.
Iranian tension has also supported oil.
About 20 people have died in protests after Iran's June 12
presidential election, the most serious unrest since the 1979
Islamic revolution. []
Fuelling oil's rise, Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> said its huge
Baytown refinery suffered an operational glitch that triggered
flaring, sparking worries the largest U.S. oil refinery could
tighten gasoline stockpiles during this summer's peak demand
driving season. []
Firmer Asian stocks on the back of Wall Street's rally also
lent support, with shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> climbing
1.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei <> up 0.8 percent. []
European shares rose [].
The Reuters/University of Michigan final June consumer
sentiment index, due at 1355 GMT, is expected to show a reading
of 69.0 compared with 68.7 in the May report, a Reuters poll of
economists showed.
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan; editing by Anthony
Barker)
