September 9, 2003	Tuesday	Rajab 11, 1424

LONDON, Sept 8: Oil prices rebounded slightly on Monday on news of a suspected attack by saboteurs on an Iraqi oil pipeline and a threat to supplies from Nigeria because of worker unrest.

The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for October delivery rose 25 cents to $27.46 per barrel in late trading here.

New York’s reference light sweet crude October contract firmed 32 cents to $29.20 in early deals.

Saboteurs set off an explosion at a pipeline linking two oil fields in northern Iraq, a civil defence official in Kirkuk said.

A labour dispute among workers at facilities operated by oil major Royal Dutch/Shell in Nigeria was also causing concern, traders said.

Talks to end a week-long strike by Shell white collar oil workers in the African producer collapsed on Friday as union officials threatened to shut down oil production. Output appeared to have been so far unaffected by the stand-off.

But despite the supply concerns, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was expected to maintain its current output quotas when it meets in Vienna on September 24 in light of the recent fall in oil prices.—AFP