US EIA Weekly Report

The Aug’25 Brent crude futures reached a daily low of $66.95/bbl at 08:45 BST before it was more supported to $67.25/bbl at 11:30 BST (time of writing). The European Commission is planning to propose a fresh set of sanctions against Russia, which includes a reduction in the oil price cap and a prohibition on using the Nord Stream infrastructure, according to a report by the Financial Times. The proposed sanctions package will see the current oil price cap, from $60/bbl, to $45/bbl. Nigeria and Saudi Aramco are struggling to reach an agreement on a record $5 billion oil-backed loan after a recent decline in crude prices sparked concern among banks that were expected to back the deal, four sources told Reuters. The facility would be Nigeria’s largest oil-backed loan to date and Saudi Arabia’s first participation of this scale in the country, although the decline in oil price could shrink the size of the deal, the sources said. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, two of the sources said, first broached the loan in November when he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh at the Saudi-African Summit. Iraq’s total oil exports to Greece surpassed $5 billion in 2024. Iraq supplied almost nine million tons of crude oil to Greece, valued at $5.41 billion, with a 21% annual growth rate between 2020-24, Shafaq News reported. According to the figures, Iraq exported 8.2 million mt of crude oil to Greece, totalling $4.59 billion. It also exported 1.52 million mt of oil derivatives, totalling $812 million. Japanese refinery, Taiyo Oil, announced that it has purchased its first batch of Sakhalin Blend crude oil from Russia in over two years. Finally, the front (Aug/Sep) and 6-month (Aug/Feb) Brent futures spreads are at $0.81/bbl and $2.26/bbl, respectively.