NYMEX-Crude rallies on Nigeria unrest, Sunoco fire

* Fire strikes Sunoco's Marcus Hook, Pa. refinery

* Nigeria militants hit infrastructure, threaten more

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose on
Monday as unrest in Nigeria and a fire at a Sunoco Pennsylvania
refinery helped lift crude oil and products prices.

"Crude has ... been bolstered by the unrest occurring in
Nigeria, where militants have declared an all out war on the
oil industry," Addison Armstrong, analyst at Tradition Energy
in Stamford, Connecticut, said in a research note.

The crude futures price rise on Monday comes ahead of
Tuesday's June contract expiration and after crude fell $2.28
on Friday on concerns about demand and economic recovery.

Nigerian militants said Sunday they had blown up two oil
and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta. [ID:nLH617651]

Nigeria's military said it has freed several hostages in
recent operations against militants. [ID:nLH639775]

Nigeria's main militant group said on Monday it would
blockade key waterways in the Niger Delta to try to prevent
crude oil exports after days of military helicopter and gunboat
raids on its camps. [ID:nLI260332]

Firefighters battled flames at Sunoco Inc's (SUN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) oil
refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Monday morning after an
explosion late Sunday cut fuel production. [ID:nN18349103]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:27 p.m. EDT
(1627 GMT), June crude CLM9 was up $1.88, or 3.34 percent, at
$58.22 a barrel, trading from $56.12 to $58.44.

* In London, July Brent crude LCON9 rose $1.82, or 3.25
percent, at $57.80 a barrel, trading from $55.91 to $58.25.

* NYMEX June RBOB RBM9 rose 5.04 cents, or 3.0 percent,
to $1.7310 a gallon, trading from $1.6770 to $1.7485, well
above resistance charted at $1.7290.

* NYMEX June heating oil HOM9 rose 4.22 cents, or 2.97
percent, to $1.4610 a gallon, trading from $1.4130 to $1.4766.

* The June/June RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at
$14.43, after ending at $14.25 on Friday. The June/June heating
oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $3.19, after ending at
$3.25 on Friday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $15.23, based
on the June 2014 contract settlement on Friday at $73.45. The
spread ended at $17.11 on Friday.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $57.28/$53.96

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $55.98/$60.08

NYMEX heating oil: $1.40/$1.55

NYMEX RBOB: $1.65/1.7290

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLI379063]

MARKET NEWS

* Angola is set to export less crude in July versus June
volumes, but still well above its implied OPEC production
target, trade sources said on Monday. [ID:nLI463012]

* Tighter compliance with supply targets is crucial to
stabilizing the oil market, OPEC's president said on Monday.
OPEC meets May 28 in Vienna. [ID:nLI629798]

* Production at Valero Energy Corp's (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Wilmington and
BP's (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Carson City, California, refineries were not
affected by a Sunday earthquake. [ID:nN18346029]

* U.S. stocks extended gains as a solid quarterly profit
and raised forecast from Lowe's Cos Inc (LOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) heightened
hopes the economic slump was easing and spending was
stabilizing. [.N]

* Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it was restarting a
hydrocracker unit at its Baytown, Texas, refinery after repairs
following an unplanned shutdown. [ID:nN18341173]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Christian Wiessner)