Oil steady; African outages, U.S. gasoline support

SYDNEY, May 14 (Reuters) Oil steadied on Monday after two sessions of gains as traders feared African supply disruptions could further strain gasoline supplies in the United States when the peak summer driving season begins at the end of May.

London's Brent crude slipped 18 cents to $66.65 a barrel by 0108 GMT after gaining more than $1.50 over the previous two sessions, ending the week higher.

U.S. oil was up 2 cents at $62.39 by 0031 GMT after rising 56 cents on Friday as oilfield outages in Congo and Nigeria weighed on traders already anxious over gasoline stocks at their lowest in 16 years for this time of year.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Friday called on OPEC to raise oil output before the summer to prevent a sharp decline in consumer nations' crude oil stocks, a message some members of the cartel fear they may hear more often.

''For sure, there will be strong pressure on OPEC to raise production,'' Kuwait's oil minister Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah told Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas.

With major world economies still humming along and prices yet to breach the $70 mark this year, however, analysts saw little to suggest the group might quickly bow to that pressure.

Its next scheduled meeting is in September.

''I think OPEC is treading very cautiously since they have been quite successful at holding prices at about $60 and they wouldn't want to jeopardise that,'' ANZ Bank's analyst Andrew Harrington.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia informed its Asian customers at the weekend that they would receive the same amount of crude in June as in May, maintaining shipments at roughly 10 percent below full contractual supplies, sources said on Monday.

Supply concerns in Congo and Nigeria both contributed to pushing up oil prices last week.

Production from the 60,000 barrel per day (bpd) Nkossa oilfield in the Congo Republic will be restored within three weeks after a fire halted output, though analysts said fears of further supply cuts in Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, would continue to support prices as long as militant attacks persist.

Nigerian labour unions called for a two-day strike to protest against vote-rigging in last month's elections, an umbrella body of unions said on Sunday, giving a potential short-term boost to oil prices.

A surge in violence in Africa's largest oil producer has shut off more than 750,000 bpd, a fifth of the country's supply.

U.S. oil major Chevron said on Friday it was evacuating hundreds of non essential personnel from offshore operations due to security concerns, but the evacuation would not further impact Chevron's production in Nigeria.

Oil prices also found some support from Iran's worsening standoff with the West over its nuclear programme.

Tehran on Sunday ruled out any suspension of its uranium enrichment work, either as a pre condition for talks with major powers or as part of their outcome REUTERS SM HS1020