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By contrast, global oil demand declined by 3.6 million bpd during the first quarter of 2009.

“This is a sudden, instant demand shock — and the scale of the decline is unprecedented,” Jim Burkhard, IHS Markit head of oil markets, said in a release.

As OPEC member countries gathered in Vienna on Wednesday to discuss potential emergency cuts to global oil supply, Citigroup Global Markets commodities expert Edward Morse said in a research note that a cut between 600,000 bpd to 1.5 million bpd appears possible, but cautioned, “this is clearly a wide range.”

The virus’s effect on oil prices to date has been dramatic. The West Texas Intermediate benchmark price has tumbled from roughly US$60 per barrel at the beginning of the year to US$46.78 per barrel on Wednesday.

For Canadian producers, who often receive discounted prices for their crude, the Western Canada Select benchmark was trading at US$32.35 per barrel, or around US$14 below the WTI benchmark.

As the outlook for oil has worsened, Canadian producers are trying to hedge their output at higher prices and also hedge the discount they’re forced to accept for their crude at U.S. refineries.

“We did layer on a couple of additional WCS heavy oil hedges,” Baytex Energy Corp. president and CEO Ed LaFehr said on an earnings call Wednesday, adding that partly as a result of its hedging program the Calgary-based heavy-oil producer “fully expects to be free cash positive in the first half.”