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LONDON - Oil rose toward $70 a barrel on Monday after Nigeria's main militant group said it attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform, outweighing a fairly bearish report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an emailed statement it struck the Shell Forcados platform in the Delta state.

There was no immediate independent confirmation but Shell said it shut in some oil production at its western operations in the Delta while it investigated reports of attacks on two well clusters in its Estuary Field.

U.S. crude for August delivery was up 42 cents at $69.58 a barrel by 1040 GMT (6:40 a.m. EDT). London Brent crude was up 33 cents at $69.25.

"The Nigerian supply disruptions brought in some buying," said Christopher Bellew, broker at Bache Commodities in London, adding crude futures could push up above $70 later on Monday.

The news from Nigeria followed an announcement on Friday by four militant factions to accept in principle an amnesty offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua, raising hopes Africa's top oil producer would halt a battle with rebels.

Pipeline bombings, attacks on oil and gas installations and kidnapping of industry workers over the past three years have prevented Nigeria from pumping much above two-thirds of its installed oil output capacity of 3 million barrels per day.

The loss of output have been a supportive factor at a time when global recession has bitten deep into oil demand.

DEMAND FORECAST CUT

The IEA, adviser to 28 industrialised countries, has cut sharply its medium-term forecast for oil demand, saying there was a chance of an extended contraction, but added the threat of a supply crunch had only receded, not gone away.