* Brent crude futures struggle to stay above $50 per barrel
* Norway oil strike to have limited impact on production
* Nigeria's output rises on tentative ceasefire
* But production in U.S., Iraq falls
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in early
trade on Thursday, with Brent futures struggling to defend $50
per barrel as fears over strike outages in Norway faded and as
Nigeria's production improved.
International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading
at $50.10 per barrel at 0126 GMT, down 51 cents, or 1 percent,
from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude futures CLc1 were down 38 cents, or 0.76 percent, at
$49.50 a barrel.
Traders said the lower prices were a result of an improving
supply outlook.
Initial fears of sharp production cuts from a looming strike
by Norway's oil and gas workers seemed to ease as output from
the North Sea's biggest producer would only fall by about 7
percent even in case of a walk-out, according to data from
Norway's Petroleum Directorate.
In Nigeria, violent attacks on the oil infrastructure
knocked out some 600,000 barrels of daily oil production to
around 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) between January and
mid-June. But a tentative ceasefire means output has recovered
by 200,000-300,000 bpd since then.
"If sustainable, this ceasefire would pave the way for
higher output, with the government optimistically aiming for a
return to normal production by end-July," Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said,
although it added that there was a risk of attacks resuming.
Prior to the disruptions, Nigerian production stood around 2
million bpd.
Goldman Sachs also said that production outages from
Canadian wildfires since May, which peaked around 1.5 million
bpd, would recover over the coming months and virtually end by
September.
In other regions, however, there were signs of a tightening
market.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on
Wednesday that crude stockpiles fell 4.1 million barrels in the
week to June 24, the sixth consecutive week of drawdowns, to
526.6 million barrels.
U.S. crude oil production was at 8.62 million bpd, down from
a peak of over 9.6 million bpd in June 2015.
In the Middle East, OPEC's second biggest producer Iraq is
set to see output fall for a second straight month in June.
Iraq's seaborne exports in the first 29 days of June have
averaged 3.14 million bpd, according to loading data tracked by
Reuters and an industry source. That would be down 60,000 bpd
from May. by Joseph Radford)