Oil hovers over $76; Iran tension, stocks in focus

SINGAPORE, July 11 (Reuters) Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday near the previous day's 11-month high, buoyed by fund flows and new Iranian tensions as traders waited to see whether U.S.

oil stock data would help extend a two-week rally.

London Brent crude currently seen as a better indicator of the global market, slipped 11 cents to .29 a barrel by 0219 GMT after rising 62 cents on Tuesday. It remained within sight of the record high .65 from last August.

U.S. crude was down 16 cents at .65 a barrel after it rose 62 cents in the previous session.

Energy analysts said speculative and institutional money pouring into crude oil futures was a major factor behind Brent's more than rise since late July, though geopolitical jitters helped give prices another leg up on Tuesday.

''The tension between Iran and the United States comes when the market is still concerned over Nigerian oil production, and that's why investors are buying,'' said Sano Keiichi of Sumitomo Corp.

An Iranian newspaper quoted a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying Iran was producing centrifuges for refining uranium domestically, limiting the impact of United Nations sanctions.

The United States, which believes Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, was sending a fresh aircraft carrier to the U.S.

Navy's Fifth Fleet area of operations, which includes the Gulf, to replace one of two carriers already in the region.

Royal Dutch Shell resumed production of around 77,000 barrels per day in Nigeria after reparing a pipeline leak, but worries over production in the world's eight-biggest exporter persist as the government struggles to end militant attacks.

Despite the supply worries, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is showing no signs of easing output restraint. Top exporter Saudi Arabia will keep its crude supplies to Asian refiners steady in August, industry sources said.

U.S. weekly oil inventory data due later on Wednesday is expected to show a 900,000-barrel rise in gasoline stocks and an 800,000-barrel build in distillates, though such gains would mean stocks remained below seasonal norms.

Crude inventories were seen rising a further 100,000 barrels to another nine-year high, according to a Reuters poll.

S] But the refinery outages may bring fuel stocks and boost crude stocks in coming weeks.

Exxon Mobil Corp. said its 240,000 bpd crude unit at its refinery in Beaumont, Texas, remained in turnaround. It had been expected back by the end of June. BP Plc has taken down the largest of three crude units at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, to fix a leak, after already having two crude units down for planned work.

Reuters RSA GC1014