SINGAPORE- Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai were mixed on Thursday, with the Oman differential plunging amid thin trading volumes near the end of the month.

Taiwanese refiner CPC bought 1 million barrels of Angola's Girassol crude for May delivery via its sweet tender, traders said.

Russia's ESPO Blend crude oil exports from the Far East port of Kozmino are set to rise to 8.8 million tonnes over April-June, from 7.8 million tonnes planned for the first quarter of the year, according to three sources familiar with the export schedule.

REFINERY

Vietnam's Dung Quat oil refinery has started processing batches of Nigeria's Qua Iboe and Angola's Cabinda crudes on a trial basis, as it seeks a replacement for shrinking domestic output of Bach Ho crude, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.

 

NEWS

OPEC+ oil producers will discuss a modest easing of oil supply curbs from April given a recovery in prices, OPEC+ sources said, although some suggest holding steady for now given the risk of new setbacks in the battle against the pandemic. 

Chinese national banks and Australia's Macquarie Group are quietly filling some of the multi-billion-dollar hole in Asian oil financing after the withdrawal of traditional European lenders, hurt by a raft of defaults and fraud allegations.

Exxon Mobil Corp's global oil and gas reserves tumbled by a third last year as the COVID-19 pandemic slammed global oil prices and demand, the company said on Wednesday. 

U.S. crude oil production dropped by more than 1 million barrels per day last week during Texas's deep freeze, equalling the largest weekly fall ever, and refining runs tumbled to levels not seen since 2008, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. 

(Reporting By Shu Zhang; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel) ((shu.zhang@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6870-3549; Reuters Messaging: Twitter @shuzhang4))outright prices 0#C-A ))