W.Africa Crude-Differentials stable in thin trade

West African crude oil differentials were unchanged in a quiet market on Thursday.

* Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) closed a tender on Thursday to purchase crude, but results were slow to surface.

* Trade has slowed in recent days in the West African crude market, traders said.

* The market is awaiting clarity on organic chloride contamination affecting Azeri BTC crude, which is similar in quality to some West African grades, two traders said.

* Despite the similarity in quality, two traders said that any uplift in demand for West African crudes by refiners looking for replacement supply could be limited because West African trades a lot further forward.

* BP said on Thursday that contaminants were detected in some of the oil tanks at Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal following assessment of the facilities, adding that oil loadings continued from other reservoirs.

* Market participants were still waiting for Angolan September nominations on Wednesday.

* Angola's oil-backed loans owed to China will drop to around $7.5 billion to $8.0 billion by the end of the year, the director of the country's debt management office said, as the government moves to reduce its reliance on resource-backed financing.