* Japan quake shuts some refineries, nuclear plants
* Saudi Arabia protests muted by police presence
* Coming up: CFTC positions data 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)
(Updates prices and market activity 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 and triggering a broader sell-off in commodities.
Muted protests in Saudi Arabia were a relief to investors
addled by plans for demonstrations in the world's top oil
exporter with markets already reacting to the battle for Libya
that has curbed production and exports.
U.S. heating oil <HOc1>, the benchmark distillate contract,
and gasoline <RBc1> futures slipped, but had some support from
expectations that Japan's shut refineries and nuclear power
plants will require more fuel imports.
Brent crude futures for April delivery <LCOc1> fell $1.91
to $113.52 a barrel at 2:53 p.m. EST (1953 GMT), having fallen
as low as $112.25.
U.S. crude futures for April delivery <CLc1> fell $1.54 to
settle at $101.16 a barrel, after earlier falling to $99.01.
U.S. crude posted a 3.12 percent loss for the week, its
first weekly loss in four.
The U.S. front-month heating oil crack spread <CL-HO=R>, or
refining profit margin, rose 83 cents to $26.01 a barrel, while
the gasoline crack spread <RB-CL=R> rose 19 cents to $24.31.
"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.
Japan was hit by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the largest
since observations began in the late 19th century.
[] []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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 []
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
MIDDLE EAST PROTESTS
A security clampdown in Saudi Arabia's capital kept a lid
on a planned day of rage. []
Police in Kuwait fired tear gas to break up a demonstration
and 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.
[]
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. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Janet McGurty in New
York, Ikuko Kurahone in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
