* Japan quake shuts some refineries, nuclear plants
* Saudi police flood streets to deter protests
* Coming up: CFTC positions data 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)
(Updates prices and market activity, adds detail)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday
after a massive earthquake shook Japan, shutting refineries and
other industrial facilities in the world's third-largest oil
consumer.
Brent was poised to post a weekly loss for the first time
in seven weeks, with U.S. crude on track to end down for the
first week in four.
As the implications for oil demand in Japan and the region
received attention, investors also monitored a planned day of
protests in top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the violence in
Libya, where oil exports have been disrupted.
Brent crude futures for April delivery <LCOc1> fell $1.39
to $114.04 a barrel at 12:51 p.m. EST (1751 GMT), having fallen
as low as $112.25.
U.S. crude futures for April delivery <CLc1> fell $1.71 to
$100.99 a barrel, having fallen earlier to $99.01.
With the earthquake shutting some refineries in Japan, the
U.S. front-month gasoline crack spread, or refining profit
margin <RB-CL=R> rose 43 cents to $24.55.
The heating oil crack spread <CL-HO=R> rose $1.08 to $26.26
a barrel.
"From an oil pricing perspective, the situation in Japan is
likely to result in a negative impact on crude oil prices and a
positive for refined products," said Dominick Chirichella,
senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York.
Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark West Texas
Intermediate crude <CL-LCO1=R> rose 49 cents to $13.08 a
barrel, after falling below $8 this week and reaching a record
above $17 last week.
Japan was hit by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the largest
since observations began in the late 19th century.
[] []
While the full extent of damage was still being assessed,
analysts said the images and reports so far did not suggest a
major economic and financial disaster. []
"Crude oil futures have fallen sharply as a sizable portion
of Japan's oil refinery capacity has been shut due to the
earthquake and tsunami. Data from China showing higher
inflation also added pressure," said Joe Posillico, broker at
MF Global in New York.
Posillico said the question going forward would be, "how
long Japan's crude oil demand will be affected."
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Factbox on Japan quake tears through commodity, energy
sectors: []
Graphics showing:
Middle East unrest http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
Libya unrest http://link.reuters.com/dew48r
Main Saudi oil region http://link.reuters.com/gew48r
FACTBOX on Libya's oil sector []
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MIDDLE EAST PROTESTS
Saudi Arabian police flooded the streets of the kingdom's
capital to deter a planned day of demonstrations, while a small
Shi'ite demonstration was reported in Hofuf, in the
oil-producing Eastern province. []
Riot police fired tear gas to break up a small, peaceful
demonstration by stateless Arabs demanding greater rights in
Kuwait, another key exporter. []
Fighting continued in OPEC-member Libya. Rebels repelled a
counter-offensive by leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces, but
appealed to foreign powers to impose a no-fly zone to stop
further attacks. []
"Looking further forward it would be optimistic to expect
Libyan oil production to return to normal levels this year,"
Lawrence Eagles with J.P. Morgan said in a research note.
Bahraini police blocked several thousand protesters from
reaching the royal palace as the region continued to deal with
spreading unrest. []
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Yemen's capital
and protests turned violent in the southern port city of Aden.
[]
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Janet McGurty in New
York, Ikuko Kurahone in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
