Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed after declining yesterday for the first time in two weeks as a report showed U.S. inventories unexpectedly rose last week.

Oil supplies rose by 3.4 million barrels, the first gain in nine weeks, the U.S. Energy Department said. Twelve of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected a decline, with some predicting drops of more than 7 million barrels. Imports rose 17 percent to 9.9 million barrels a day as shipping rebounded after disruption from Hurricane Ivan.

``Inventories are going to be the focus for the next few weeks to see if things are getting flowing again after the hurricane damage,'' said Mike Armbruster, co-founder of Altavest Worldwide Trading Inc. in Laguna Hills, California. ``Three million barrels isn't that big a deal.''

Crude oil for November delivery rose 4 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $49.55 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:52 a.m. Sydney time.

Yesterday, November crude fell as low as $48.40 a barrel in its first decline since Sept. 15. The contract closed down 39 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $49.51. The day before it rose as high as $50.47, the highest since futures began trading in 1983.

U.S. oil inventories fell 9.1 million barrels to 269.5 million in the week ended Sept. 17 as oil companies shut platforms and import terminals as Hurricane Ivan approached the Gulf of Mexico, home to a quarter of the country's oil production. Another decline last week would have left inventories close to their lowest since September 1975. Stockpiles last week were 2.8 percent lower than a year earlier.

Nigeria

Oil extended its fall after Reuters reported that Nigerian rebel leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari agreed a cease-fire with President Olusegun Obasanjo's government while the two sides hold talks on autonomy for the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Asari's Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force earlier this week said they would start an ``all-out war on the Nigerian state'' if an agreement couldn't be reached, Reuters said.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Nigeria's top producer, closed two pumping stations in the Niger delta that produce 30,000 barrels a day and stepped up security to protect staff. The lost output compares with Shell's daily output in Nigeria of more than 1 million barrels.

Nigeria is pumping between 2.4 million and 2.5 million barrels a day, Edmund Daukoru, Nigeria's presidential adviser, said Sept. 28. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and the fifth-largest supplier to the U.S. this year, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

OPEC

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can boost oil supply by as much as two million barrels a day, its president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in a statement released to reporters in Jakarta yesterday. OPEC plans to boost its spare capacity to between 3 million and 4 million barrels a day by 2005, he said, without elaborating.

OPEC increased crude-oil production 1.2 percent to 29.92 million barrels a day in August, reaching a 25-year high for a second month, according to Bloomberg data.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and OPEC's most influential member, said Sept. 28 its oil output capacity has risen by almost 5 percent to 11 million barrels a day from the development of two new fields. The kingdom also promised to meet any shortages that arise on world markets.

``I think this is a prelude to us seeing a lot more crude arriving here,'' said George Gaspar, an energy analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. ``With the kind of production coming out of OPEC and non-OPEC countries we should see inventories increase as we approach the winter.''

Late Rally

Yesterday, oil rose from its intraday low of $48.40, even after the report that inventories increased and OPEC's comments about spare capacity. The rebound illustrates how tight the market remains, Altavest's Armbruster said.

``It's a pretty strong market that can take on all that news and still hold up with only a 39 cent fall'' at the close, he said.

Refineries operated at 83.7 percent of capacity, down 4.4 percentage points. Refiners were expected to operate at 89.1 percent of capacity last week, according to the median of forecasts.

The U.S. has loaned refiners 3.2 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset supplies disrupted by the hurricane. ConocoPhillips, Placid Refining Co. LLC and a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell Group will receive the barrels.

Ivan reduced U.S. output by 12.4 million barrels since Sept. 13, according to a report yesterday from the Minerals Management Service, a bureau in the U.S. Interior Department that manages offshore oil, gas and mineral resources.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gavin Evans in Wellington, New Zealand at gavinevans@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 29, 2004 19:12 EDT