LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Sales of West African crude
remained largely paralysed as traders awaited the outcome of an
oil producers' meeting on Thursday that could revive oil prices
as demand remains heavily subdued.
NIGERIA
* Shell has declared force majeure on exports of Nigerian
Forcados crude oil after a shutdown by the pipeline's operator,
a spokeswoman for the Shell Petroleum Development Company of
Nigeria RDSa.L said on Thursday. * Traders continued to keep bids and offers largely silent
as assessments of cargo values vary widely, but most agree that
demand will remain low as differentials plumb multi-year lows.
* The glut of unsold Nigerian oil is also at its highest
volumes in years, with traders estimating the number of April
and May cargoes at just under 60.
* Cargoes of Qua Iboe and Bonny Light crude continued to be
offered at around dated Brent minus $3.00.
ANGOLA
* Angola's state firm Sonangol had yet to sell its cargoes
of May-loading CLOV and Dalia cargoes, a trader said.
* At least 20 cargoes from the May programme remained
available, as the preliminary June programme was expected by the
middle of next week.
RELATED NEWS
* OPEC and other oil nations held talks on Thursday on
record production cuts of up to 20 million barrels per day,
equivalent to about 20% of global supplies, to support prices
hammered by the coronavirus crisis, OPEC and Russian sources
said. * The world is swimming in unwanted crude oil thanks to
pandemic-related demand destruction yet some major crude storage
hubs are still only virtually full as purchases from last month
have yet to arrive, according to consultancy OilX. * Asia Pacific oil refineries are finding that processing
cuts are not keeping pace with sharp drops in fuel margins,
which hit record lows this month, caused by the demand decline
from the economic dislocations of the coronavirus outbreak.