* Impact of Hurricane Ida crimps U.S. supply
* Brent rangebound between $70 and $74 for three weeks
* OPEC sees Delta coronavirus variant weighing on oil demand
(Updates prices, adds attacks on Colombian oilfield,)
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Monday, supported by
concerns over shut output in the United States because of damage
from Hurricane Ida, with analysts expecting prices to remain
rangebound in a stable market over the coming months.
Brent crude was up 62 cents, or 0.9%, to $73.54 a
barrel at 1332 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
was 78 cents, or 1.1%, higher at $70.50.
Brent has held between $70 and $74 a barrel over the past
three weeks.
"Oil prices may not have much room to rise in the near term,
but at the same time are not expected to crash soon," said
Stephen Brennock of broker PVM.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week
said it expected Brent prices to remain near current levels for
the remainder of 2021, averaging $71 a barrel during the fourth
quarter.
"Markets still need clarity on the virus impacts beyond the
very near term; and until we get that, it seems like most
assets, including oil, may continue to drift sideways," said
Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore's OCBC bank.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
on Monday trimmed its world oil demand forecast for the last
quarter of 2021, citing the Delta coronavirus variant and saying
a further recovery would be partially delayed until next year.
The producer group said in a monthly report that it expects
oil demand to average 99.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in the
fourth quarter of 2021, down 110,000 bpd from last month's
forecast.
Prices still found some support from Hurricane Ida's impact
on U.S. output. About three quarters of the offshore oil
production in the Gulf of Mexico, or about 1.4 million bpd, has
remained halted since late August.
"Hurricane Ida was unique in having a net bullish impact on
U.S. and global oil balances - with the impact on demand smaller
than on production," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note dated
Sept. 9.
Further disruption from bad weather could be around the
corner, with tropical storm Nicholas in the Gulf of Mexico and
expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the coming days, the
U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
However, the number of rigs in operation in the United
States grew in the latest week, energy service provider Baker
Hughes said, indicating production could rise in coming weeks.
A supply boost could also come from China's planned release
of oil from strategic reserves, while the hope of fresh talks on
a wider nuclear deal between Iran and the West was raised after
the United Nations atomic watchdog reached an agreement with
Iran on Sunday about the overdue servicing of monitoring
equipment to keep it running.
Meanwhile, two attacks carried out at an oilfield run by
majority state-owned Colombian oil company Ecopetrol
caused a fire and a spill of crude onto vegetation but no
injuries, the company said. La Cira Infantas field produces
around 30,000 bpd of crude.
(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London
Additional eporting by Naveen Thukral and Florence Tan
Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)
