Oil climbs from 3-mth low

TOKYO (Reuters) – Brent crude prices in the United States.

Brent crude futures had climbed 28 cents, gold 0.4 percent, to $ 72.12 a barrel by 0331 GMT. They fell 4.6 percent on Monday, at one point touching their lowest since mid-April.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 1 cent at $ 68.05. They fell 4.2 percent on Monday.

An oil worker strikes in Norway intensified on the face of a dispute over pay and pensions.

The strike, which began last Tuesday, has had a limited impact on Norway's oil production so far, but some drillers warned of possible contract cancellations if the dispute goes on for a month or more.

"The threat of further supply disruptions has not totally evaporated," ANZ said in a morning note.

ANZ also said that "production from Libya remains susceptible to further declines, despite its ports reopening".

While Libyan ports are reopening, the Sharara oilfield was expected to fall to 160,000 barrels per day after the oil company was hijacked by an unknown group, the National Oil Corporation said on Saturday.

On July 11, the NOC said these were being reopened after eastern factions handed over to the ports, while a long time ago. Two days later, 300,000 bpd Sharara was slashed.

U.S. Oil output from seven major shale formations is expected to rise by 143,000 bpd to a record 7.47 million bpd in August, the US Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on Monday.

Production is expected to climb in all seven formations, with the largest gain of 73,000 bpd seen in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. All shale regions except for Appalachia are at a high, according to the data.