Oil hits record over $117 on supply worries

By Matthew Robinson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices hit record highs over $117 a barrel on Monday as rebel attacks cut Nigerian supplies and a Scottish refinery strike threatened North Sea crude production.

Further support came as OPEC officials said the market had enough oil and that the producer group would not ramp up output to help bring down prices despite calls for more oil from some consumer nations.

U.S. light crude settled up 79 cents at $117.48 a barrel, off the record high of $117.76 hit earlier. London Brent crude settled 51 cents higher at $114.43 a barrel after hitting an all-time peak of $114.86.

Pipeline attacks in OPEC member Nigeria last week shut 169,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Bonny Light production, forcing Royal Dutch Shell Plc to declare force majeure on exports of the crude.

Nigerian rebels also attacked two Shell oil pipelines in the Niger Delta on Monday after the raid last week in what they called an act of defiance against major consumer the United States.

A threatened strike by Scottish oil refinery workers has also stirred supply concerns.

The Grangemouth refinery has begun shutting down ahead of a two-day strike due to start on Sunday. Some North Sea oil and natural gas output will have to be shut in if the union halts the refinery, operator Ineos said.

Despite oil's rise to fresh peaks, OPEC officials reiterated their insistence that markets have enough crude.