UPDATE 4-Glut of crude swells across Atlantic basin on coronavirus, OPEC+ hikes

* Supply offered at deep discounts as crude prices slump
* Qua Iboe crude differential slumps to multi-year low
* Nigeria expected to cut official selling prices
* Weak demand, lack of storage weighs on market

(Adds Asia market trades, changes date)
By Alex Lawler and Devika Krishna Kumar
LONDON/NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Crude oil traders from
West Africa to the U.S. Gulf Coast are offering cargoes at deep
discounts, desperately trying to attract buyers as global
supplies swell and demand plunges.
Oil prices CLc1 LCOc1 have plummeted to 18-year lows as
the global spread of the coronavirus has throttled back air and
road travel at the same time as major producers are hiking
production after Russia refused to back deeper output cuts at a
meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and its allies. O/R
The sudden collapse in demand has resulted in a glut of
unsold, high quality crude in Nigeria and sent prices at the
U.S. Gulf Coast to a discount to benchmark futures, traders
said, as Middle East producers flood the market with supplies.
Nigeria, which produces some of the easiest-to-refine crude
that typically commands a premium, has 30 or more unsold
April-loading cargoes, traders say, equal to 30 million barrels
or 30% of daily world demand.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) last week put
the number as high as 50, and prices for one key Nigerian grade
are now at a discount to dated Brent.
Demand for exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast has collapsed,
traders said. U.S. exports had steadily increased in the last
four years to more than 4 million barrels per day recently, but
that is now threatened by the flood of cheaper Saudi oil.
"There are no buyers," a U.S. Gulf Coast crude trader said.
"Refiners in trouble, exporters in trouble, producers in
trouble. This is a disaster with no end in sight."
A lack of options for storage, as well as rising freight
costs as Saudi Arabia ramps up shipments, are also deterring
buyers. Saudi Arabia's Bahri shipping unit has booked up to 40
tankers, some of which are for storage. Bahri could not
immediately be reached for comment. Tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, one of the biggest storage hubs
in the world and the delivery point for benchmark U.S. crude
futures, are expected to fill to capacity as early as May,
traders said.
Crude storage in the Caribbean is sold out already, said
Ernie Barsamian, founder and chief executive of The Tank Tiger,
a terminal storage clearinghouse in Princeton, New Jersey.
"Cargoes are being severely discounted to move as there are
little prospects to export and also very few options to store on
ship and/or tanks," said Scott Shelton, energy specialist at
United ICAP.

WEAK PRICING
One trader expected differentials to go lower. Nigeria's
largest crude stream, Qua Iboe, was valued at a premium of $3.00
a barrel to benchmark dated Brent in December, but this week was
offered at dated Brent minus 70 cents, two traders said.
That would be the lowest in many years. Qua Iboe BFO-QUA
was last valued at parity with dated Brent in 2005, according to
Refinitiv Eikon data.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude at East Houston, or WTI
MEH, flipped to trade at a discount to benchmark U.S. crude this
week, traders said. In Asia, Middle East cargoes for loading in May were offered
at wider discounts this week after Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates pumped up supplies of cheap oil to the east in
April. Qatari al-Shaheen crude flipped into a deep spot discount of
$3.07 a barrel to Dubai quotes, likely the lowest ever, while
Abu Dhabi's Murban crude was offered at a discount of 50 cents
to its official quotes but still failed to attract buyers,
traders said. Spot premiums for other crude grades produced in
Asia and Russia are also under pressure, they added.
A lack of demand has also depressed North Sea crude
differentials, although companies say they are not struggling to
sell.
The differential for Forties crude BFO-FOT , the largest
crude stream underpinning the dated Brent benchmark, has fallen
to dated Brent minus 75 cents, the lowest since December 2018
according to Refinitiv data.
May programmes for Nigerian crude will emerge in the coming
days and add another 50 cargoes or 50 million barrels to already
ample supplies. Traders predict Nigeria will cut its official
selling prices (OSPs) for April crude, which are expected
imminently.