Oil prices drop despite Mideast concern

Oil dips below $75 a barrel today, although concerns about a prolonged cut in Nigerian oil output and violence in the Middle …

Oil dips below $75 a barrel today, although concerns about a prolonged cut in Nigerian oil output and violence in the Middle East are expected to limit selling.

London Brent crude fell 11 cents to $74.90 a barrel, and US light sweet crude dropped 13 cents to $74.41 a barrel by 9.46am.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell's chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer, said last night the company did not expect production closed off in Nigeria to make a significant recovery this year.

Shell is losing 653,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the output it operates in Nigeria, most of it because of militant attacks.

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Chevron has also reduced exports by 43,000 bpd. The total amounts to around a quarter of production from the world's eighth biggest exporter.

Today's gains added to a rise of more than a dollar yesterday for Brent, which has reacted more strongly than US crude to the concern about Nigeria.

Traders and analysts said that over the past days Nigeria has been a bigger factor for the market than violence in Lebanon, although nagging fears the conflict could draw in some Middle East oil producers have kept the market on edge.