* Major oil exporters Nigeria, Venezuela in crisis
* U.S. output also down sharply
* Recovering Canadian output, rising OPEC supplies weigh on
market
* Stronger dollar also caps oil
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, May 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up in early
trading on Monday as output falls in Nigeria and worries about
political instability in Venezuela tightened the market,
although rising OPEC output and a stronger dollar capped gains.
International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at
$48.11 per barrel at 0148 GMT, up 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, from
their last settlement.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude futures CLc1 were
up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $46.46 a barrel.
Analysts said that falling supplies from producers such as
Nigeria, the Americas and China had pushed up prices, although
they added that increases elsewhere were capping gains.
"Oil struggled to hold gains from the previous day as the
return of output from Canadian producers negated
(production)losses," said ANZ bank.
In Nigeria, oil major Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N suspended exports
from the country's biggest crude stream, Qua Iboe, and other
producers like Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) CVX.N
have also suffered disruptions following acts of sabotage,
cutting output to its lowest in decades of around 1.65 million
barrels per day (bpd).
In the Americas, major oil exporter Venezuela seemed to be
on the brink of political and economic meltdown, triggering
fears of default by its national oil company PDVSA, which has to
make almost $5 billion in bond payments this year.
Venezuela's oil production has already fallen by at least
188,000 bpd since the start of the year as PDVSA struggles to
make the necessary investment to keep output steady.
Adding to these disruptions were the United States, where
crude production C-OUT-T-EIA has fallen to 8.8 million bpd,
8.4 percent below 2015 peaks as the sector suffers a wave of
debt-fuelled bankruptcies.
In China, Asia's biggest oil producer and consumer, output
fell 5.6 percent to 4.04 million bpd in April, compared with the
same time last year.
Yet countering these disruptions was rising supply from the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)following the lifting of sanctions against Iran which
triggered a race for market share between Tehran and OPEC-rivals
like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
OPEC pumped 32.44 million bpd in April, up 188,000 bpd from
March. This is the highest since at least 2008, according to a
Reuters review of past OPEC reports.
Also weighing on markets was recovering output in Canada
following forced closures due to a wildfire, as well as a 3
percent rise in the dollar this month against other leading
currencies .DXY . A firmer dollar makes dollar-traded fuel
imports more expensive for countries using other currencies,
potentially weighing on demand.