* Gasoline exports from the region remained strong, with a number of new tanker fixtures booked for the US East Coast, West Africa and Asia, shipping data showed.

* Trafigura booked a 60,000 tonne gasoline cargo from the Baltic port of Klaipeda to Australia, loading on April 6, the data showed.

* European gasoline exports hit a two-year high this week after a recent drop in US stocks prompted buying ahead of the summer driving season. Figures from data analytics business Kpler showed European exports hit 1.46 million barrels per day this week, nearly double the rate in the previous two weeks.

* Workers at Royal Dutch Shell's Pernis oil refinery, Europe's largest, and the Moerdijk chemical plant in the Netherlands will go on strike from April 8, reducing output to press their claims for higher wages, Dutch labour union CNV said on Friday.

* French oil and gas major Total said on Friday it will halt production at some units of its 220,000 bpd Donges refinery in western France from the end of April to the end of June for maintenance.