LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Offers for Angolan crude slipped
further as Chinese demand was expected to remain muted due to
refinery maintenance and poor margins.
* China's refinery maintenance season began at the start of
this month and could last in some places until late May.
* High futures prices, market backwardation, which makes
draws on storage more economical, and a widening Brent-Dubai
spread has encouraged Asian refiners to buy more Middle East and
Russian crude priced on the Dubai benchmark.
* Brent-linked grades from West Africa are sought less.
* Unipec was last offering for re-sale four of its term
allocated cargoes of Angolan crude, Gindungo, Dalia, Mondo and
Girassol - all down around 10 to 20 cents from previous offers.
* Indonesia's Pertamina issued a buy tender for crude oil
for May arrival valid until Friday.
* India's IOC issued a buy tender for May 1-10 loading crude
with results expected on Thursday.
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considering rolling over production cuts into April instead of
raising output as a recovery in oil demand remains fragile due
to the coronavirus crisis, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
* U.S. crude oil stockpiles surged by a record of more than
21 million barrels last week as refining plunged to an all-time
low as plants remained shut due to the Texas freeze that knocked
out power for millions, the Energy Information Administration
said on Wednesday.