VIETNAM

Vietnam's PV Oil has offered two cargoes of 300,000 barrels each of Chim Sao crude for loading May 11-15 and May 26-30. The tender closes on March 14 and is valid to March 20.

PV Oil sold its March-loading Chim Sao cargoes to Taiyo and Binh Son Refining at a premium of $3.40 to $3.60 a barrel above dated Brent, traders have said.

QATAR

Qatar Petroleum has sold to Unipec 500,000 barrels a month of low-sulphur condensate for loading April to September at a premium of $1 to $1.30 above its formula, traders said.

NEWS

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday reissued its 2018 global oil demand growth forecast of 1.85 million barrels per day (bpd) despite recent signs of a slight slowdown, citing a strong start to the year and a pattern of second-quarter demand acceleration.

China's February crude oil imports fell sharply from January's record as independent refineries curbed buying on worries about new tax rules, while natural gas imports held at high levels to heat homes during a bitter winter.

China plans to create an energy ministry to oversee the country's vast oil, natural gas, coal and power sectors as part of a planned government efficiency drive, four sources with ties to the country's leadership said this week.

Iran has set the official selling price (OSP) of its Light crude oil for Asian buyers at $1.20 a barrel above Oman/Dubai quotes for April, 60 cents lower than the previous month, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Iraq's SOMO will resume its normal Basra crude loading schedule for Asian customers after a three-month trial in which it had notified them of supplies earlier than usual, a senior company official said on Thursday.

US crude stocks rose less than expected last week while inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub fell for an 11th straight week, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.