FACTBOX-Market analyst reaction to Gulf oil platform blaze

Sept 2 (Reuters) - An offshore oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico owned by Mariner Energy Inc ME.N burst into flames on Thursday morning near Louisiana, close to the site of BP's Macondo disaster in April, the world's worst offshore oil spill.

The cause of the blaze was not known. All 13 crew members were evacuated from the site, but the U.S. Coast Guard reported an oil sheen at least a mile long in waters nearby.

During late August, the Mariner platform, located 90 miles (145 km) south of Louisiana, had been producing 1,400 barrels a day of crude oil and 9.2 million cubic feet a day of natural gas, the company said.

The production volumes were tiny compared with total Gulf of Mexico oil production of about 1.6 million barrels a day.

Nevertheless, U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 rose above $74 a barrel after news of the rig blaze, and natural gas futures NGV0 also rose, hitting $3.844 per million British thermal units.

Shares of Mariner energy and those of Apache Corp (APA.N), which is in the process of acquiring Mariner, fell after reports of the blaze.

The blaze was contained, but had not been extinguished by 12 noon CDT (1700 GMT).

Below are analysts' comments on the explosion and market reaction:

GENE MCGILLIAN, ANALYST, TRADITION ENERGY, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT:

"The rig was shut down for maintenance when the fire occurred, but even if it was producing oil and gas, I don't think the market would have reacted to that in particular. We have more than ample supplies. But market is still nervous with BP problem and this is another pointer that there's some risk with offshore rigs."

RICK MULLER, SENIOR ANALYST, ENERGY SECURITY ANALYSIS INC, BOSTON:

"This explosion will make it less likely that the moratorium on offshore drilling will be lifted. Short term, this will help the government argue in court that it should be careful about putting safety rules in place before letting producers get back to drilling. This will not make opening up the east coast any easier.

"The news helped prices a little bit but the market is waiting to see tomorrow's unemployment report before deciding which direction to take."

PETER BEUTEL, PRESIDENT, CAMERON HANOVER, NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT:

"Market is not going to be affected in terms of supply because we are not approaching a tight market right now. Market was following higher Euro and equity prices. But any headline of a rig explosion so close on heels of the deepwater explosion will have psychological effects. The fire will give fresh ammunition to those supporting a moratorium against offshore drilling to suggest that running rigs in the middle of the ocean is dangerous. The market will react long term only if those who support moratorium use this as an exhibit for their argument."

EUGEN WEINBERG, HEAD OF COMMODITY RESEARCH, COMMERZBANk:

"It's still too early and we'll need to see what happened in order to assess the implications but the results are likely to be dramatic for the oil and gas industry if the incident is similar to BP's spill.

"The incident has happened at the wrong time. The political establishment will probably move quickly as everybody still remembers the slow dealing with the Macondo accident and the dramatic pictures from this summer

"Higher oil prices might well be the result if quick action is taken in the Gulf. Oil was looking oversold and a drilling or production moratorium should see prices move higher."

RAOUL LEBLANC, SENIOR DIRECTOR, PFC ENERGY, HOUSTON:

"If it's an industrial accident and doesn't involve a well it's obviously still bad, and we hope that no-one has been hurt, but it's unlikely to have long-term implications for production in the Gulf of Mexico."

EDWARD MEIR, ANALYST, MF GLOBAL, CONNECTICUT:

"As it has turned out to be a production platform rather than a drilling platform, I think the initial reaction may have been a little overdone. However, given we were trading lower earlier while other markets -- especially metals -- were stronger, it's possible we'll just catching up with them now.

TOM KNIGHT, TRADER, TRUMAN ARNOLD, TEXARKANA, TEXAS:

"Crude futures prices today mirror movements on Wall Street and the dollar, much like yesterday's action. Crude futures pulled back earlier on profit-taking after yesterday's sharp gains." (Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)