UPDATE 4-Oil up on supply disruptions, China demand

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* Strikes, unrest, infrastructure woes cut OPEC supplies-IEA

* North Sea Forties oil cargoes to be delayed -trade source

* Libyan oil output falls to lowest since 2011 (Updates throughout with OPEC report, North Sea delays, quote)

By Lin Noueihed

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil rose by $1 to reach more than $107 a barrel on Friday, driven by North Sea and Libyan supply disruptions and evidence that the economy of the world's top energy consumer, China, was stabilising.

Concerns that delays to oil supplies in the North Sea as well unrest in Middle Eastern OPEC producers could persist or even worsen has boosted prices, analysts said.

U.S. September crude prices jumped by $1.17 to reach $104.59 a barrel at 1010 GMT, breaking five days of losses after a trade source said more North Sea Forties crude cargoes would be delayed due to a pipeline closure that has affected Britain's largest oilfield. It stood at at $103.87 at 1135 GMT.

Brent rose by $1 to reach $107.68 at 1038 GMT after settling in the last session at its lowest level since July 4. It quickly pared gains, however, to hover around $107.10 by 1135 GMT.

Adding to concerns over tightening supplies, a report from the International Energy Agency suggested America's shale oil boom was protecting the world from steep oil price spikes as several OPEC members struggle to maintain production due to unrest and infrastructure problems.

A report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries painted a similar picture on Friday.

"North Sea would not be such a problem if you did not also have disruptions in Libya and Iran... Then the market becomes more reactive on supply," Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix said.

"Disruptions in Libya are coming to a point where you can compare them to sanctions on Iran... It is a combination of geopolitics and supply disruptions."

Workers' protests have already slashed Libya's oil output to the lowest levels since the 2011 civil war and more than halved its exports.

Pipeline attacks in Iraq's north have pushed output down and planned work at the southern terminals in September could slash exports by up to 500,000 barrels per day, the IEA said.

Although an imminent rebound for China is still unlikely, steady consumer inflation in July also offered some hope to markets already buoyed by strong trade numbers.

China's commodity imports saw an overwhelming increase in July, with crude oil, iron ore and soybean shipments all climbing to record highs, although its implied oil demand softened from a 4-month high in June.

"Stronger than expected Chinese data and continued supply issues are supporting prices," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritch said.

(Additional reporting by Florence Tan; editing by James Jukwey)

Energy

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