Oil slips, holds $71 as OPEC says supplies ample

SINGAPORE, June 8 (Reuters) Oil slipped but held above today, as OPEC rebuffed calls for more crude supplies and Oman's exports remained shut in after a Gulf storm.

London Brent crude seen as currently more representative of the global market, was down 13 cents at .09 a barrel at 0309 GMT, after rising 20 cents on Thursday. The US crude fell 12 cents to .81 after a 97-cent rally.

OPEC President Mohammed al-Hamli said on Thursday oil supplies were sufficient and there was no need for an emergency meeting.

Consumers have been urging the group to produce more oil to lower prices.

Prices were also lifted on Thursday by a report of Turkey launching a major incursion into northern Iraq, but this failed to spook traders for long and Turkey denied the move. A military source said troops had conducted a limited raid.

''That geopolitical factor fizzled out. The US and Turkey did not attach a lot of importance to it. Maybe it will come back into the market later, but for the time being it's not an issue disrupting crude supplies,'' said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Rittersbusch&Associates.

Data this week showing US refiners were struggling to boost summer gasoline production and Cyclone Gonu's disruption of Omani oil and gas exports kept Brent crude within sight of late May's .80 high.

Cyclone Gonu waned into a storm as it passed into a major oil shipping route toward Iran on Thursday, but Oman's 650,000 barrels per day oil exports stayed shut in for a third day on Thursday.

But there were no reports so far of serious damage to Oman's Mina al Fahal refinery or other oil facilities, port, shipping and oil company sources said. Sohar refinery and port had reopened and were working as before the storm.

Authorities were assessing damage and could reopen the terminals on Friday, shipping and port sources predicted.

Adding to the sense of supply unease already heightened by Nigerian outages and Iran's nuclear drive, Brazilian oil workers are threatening a five day strike that could affect the country's 2.4 million bpd of production.

REUTERS PM SSC1126