Oil at 'equilibrium' at $100 a barrel - Mercuria

LONDON Feb 1 (Reuters) - Oil prices are comfortable around $100 a barrel and are unlikely to spike much higher for long even if Iranian oil supply is disrupted, the head of energy trading house Mercuria says.

Marco Dunand, chairman of Mercuria Energy Group, told Reuters the oil market had steadlied despite turbulence in the Middle East and North Africa over the last year and tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear programme.

"Despite the fact that we are encountering very uncertain times - Iran, the Middle East, North Africa and the tsunami - the volatility has reduced and is now lower than in 2008-09," Dunand said in an interview.

"There is a risk to the upside regarding a potential conflict in the Middle East, especially in Iran, but many people think that such a conflict will not necessarily last very long and we will eventually find equilibrium, if you look a few years down the road," he added.

"The market is taking a view that although we have short-term issues, over time the market equilibrium should be somewhere around $100 a barrel."

U.S. crude oil futures traded just below $100 on Wednesday and have not been far from that level for months. North Sea Brent is trading well above the U.S. benchmark and was around $112 at 1000 GMT on Wednesday.