Oil stable as higher Middle East exports offset supply threats

By Robert Harvey

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Wednesday, with Brent futures holding above $100 a barrel, as investors weighed higher Gulf exports against ongoing supply risks from the Middle East conflict and a storm heading for oil-producing regions in the United States. 

Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.35%, to $100.93 a barrel by 0800 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 15 cents, or 0.17%, to $89.59.

The market is likely to remain nervous about any potential supply disruptions, ING commodity strategists said, adding that Middle East supply risks are still very real with continued attacks on ships. 

Supply has been recovering, however. Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline has increased flows to 5.8 million barrels per day, the kingdom's energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said on Tuesday. 

About 12 million bpd of crude oil and 2 million bpd of refined products have left the Middle East on tankers in the past 7 to 10 days, the head of Vitol said. 

Investor sentiment lacks conviction that recent rises in supply and exports from the Middle East are sustainable, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

Saudi Arabia's airports in Jazan and Najran were hit in two attacks on Monday evening, the Saudi aviation authority said, as hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis escalated.

US-Iran relations are no closer to repair, with US President Donald Trump saying on Tuesday that nobody knew who was running Iran during the eight-month US-Israeli war with Iran. 

US forecasters said on Tuesday that a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico would become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 within two days and was likely to hit oil and gas facilities. 

Offshore areas in the storm's path produce 15% of US crude oil and 5% of the country's natural gas.

KCM Trade chief analyst Tim Waterer said the storm was an "unwelcome complication for crude, raising the prospect of production and refining disruptions at a time when the market already has enough supply-side headaches".

The storm could affect six refineries. Refineries in US Gulf states account for about 50% of the national capacity of 18.2 million bpd.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey in London and Jeslyn Lerh in SingaporeAdditional reporting by Helen Clark in PerthEditing by David Goodman)