Crude oil prices eased on Monday on profit-taking after setting a new record high above $117 due to worries of supply disruptions and comments by OPEC reiterating there is no need to raise output. US light crude struck a record high of $117.40 a barrel earlier on Monday but was trading 50 cents lower at $116.19 by 1542 GMT. London Brent crude also struck its all-time peak of $114.65. It was trading at $113.33, down by 59 cents. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sees no need to raise oil production to counter high oil prices, the group's president Chakib Khelil said on Sunday. His remark was followed by Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari, who said on Monday oil prices were not too high in real terms. “OPEC's assertion that an increase in its oil production will not help to bring down prices should be put to the test,” the Center for Global Energy Studies said in a research note. These remarks come amid concerns over North Sea production due to an impending strike by workers at a refinery in Scotland and supplies from Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter. Scottish oil refinery Grangemouth has started to shut down ahead of a two-day strike due to start on Sunday. If the union goes ahead with the strike, it will close down a part of the North Sea oil production and some gas output, refinery operator Ineos said. Refined oil product prices also soared as the strike could further tighten fuel supplies. Supplies of distillate products, including gas oil for heating and diesel, have been tight in many areas in the world and gasoline demand is expected to rise toward the summer driving season. London's gas oil futures showed the biggest percentage gain in the oil complex. New York's heating oil and gasoline futures set their record highs. Royal Dutch Shell said it has lost 169,000 bpd of oil production from Nigeria due to repair work at a pipeline which was sabotaged last week. The production loss was followed by further sabotage. Shell in Nigeria said on Monday two of its oil pipelines were attacked in the country's oil rich Niger Delta on Monday and the company was assessing the damage. A fall in the dollar also contributed to oil's rally. A weak dollar has devalued assets in the US currency, pushing investors to shift part of their money to commodities and oil. Oil prices at their current level are too high for everyone, the head of the International Energy Agency, Nobuo Tanaka, said on Monday. At the same time, output from oil producing countries is sufficient, Tanaka added. “The IEA's view is that the prices are too high for everbody, especially for developing countries,” Tanaka told journalists on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum here. At the same time, “the current level of production is enough and sufficient,” he added. __
