UPDATE 11-Oil plummets 6% as Saudi minister says supplies fully restored

* Pares previous day's biggest price gains since '91 Gulf
crisis
* Saudi Arabia to restore oil output by end Sept -energy
minister
* U.S. believes Saudi attacks came from southwest Iran
-official
* U.S. crude oil stocks rise 592,000 bbls -API

(New throughout, adds more details, API data on U.S. crude
stocks)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled about 6% on
Tuesday after Saudi Arabia's energy minister said the country
has managed to restore oil supplies to where they stood before
weekend attacks on its facilities shut 5% of global oil output.
Saturday's attacks raised the specter of a major supply
shock in a market that in recent months has been preoccupied
with demand concerns and faltering global growth. Oil surged as
much as 20% at one point on Monday. During a news conference on Tuesday, Saudi Energy Minister
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom has recovered
supplies by tapping inventories, and lost oil output of 5.7
million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of September.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures sank $4.47, or 6.5%, to settle
at $64.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 futures fell $3.56, or 5.7%, to settle at $59.34 a
barrel.
Brent sank more than 7% during the news conference.
"The latest news means that we will not be rushing to revise
up our oil price forecast of $60 per barrel at end-2019. That
said, there remain some important questions to be answered about
the attacks, which may mean that we will have to consider a
permanently higher risk premium in our price forecasts," said
Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist for Capital
Economics, in a note.
State-owned producer Saudi Aramco told some Asian refiners
it would meet its oil commitments, albeit with changes, sources
said. The attacks on crude-processing facilities at
Abqaiq and Khurais resulted in the largest single supply
disruption in half a century, and threw into question Saudi
Arabia's status as supplier of last resort. prospect of releases from strategic oil reserves in the
United States, and other industrialized countries that the
International Energy Agency advises, such as Japan, have weighed
on prices, but the geopolitical threat of retaliation is causing
concerns.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the United States was
reviewing evidence that suggests Iran was behind the attacks.
"We're evaluating all the evidence. We're consulting with
our allies. And the president will determine the best course of
action in the days ahead," Pence said.
Washington believes the attacks originated in southwestern
Iran, a U.S. official told Reuters. Relations between the United States and Iran have
deteriorated since U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the
Iran nuclear accord last year and reimposed sanctions on its oil
exports.
Tehran rejects the charges it was behind the strikes and on
Tuesday ruled out talks with Trump. King Salman called on world governments to confront
threats to oil supplies. U.S. crude inventories rose by 592,000 barrels in the week
ended Sept. 13 to 422.5 million, data from industry group the
American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. Analysts had
expected a decrease of 2.5 million barrels. Official U.S. government data will be released on Wednesday.

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GRAPHIC: Saudi Arabia crude oil exports by top destinations https://tmsnrt.rs/31tmGgz
CHART: U.S. oil may retest resistance at $62.64 per barrel
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CHART: Brent oil may retest resistance zone of $71.74-$72.66
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GRAPHIC: Global oil prices pull back but remain jittery https://tmsnrt.rs/303OXwF
Graphic on facilities hit in attack https://tmsnrt.rs/302z0Hm
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