Apr’25 Brent futures saw marginal strength this afternoon, trading from $74.55/bbl at 1200 GMT to $74.70/bbl at 1735 GMT. Crude oil prices have seen bullish sentiment after the US imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, hitting more than 30 brokers, tanker operators, and shipping companies, as per Reuters. The UK has also announced its largest package of sanctions against Russia today since the early days of the war in Ukraine, including sanctions on a further 40 shadow fleet vessels. In other news, Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery, owned by Rosneft, halted operations after a Ukrainian drone strike, three industry sources told Reuters. The main crude distillation unit caught fire in the attack and has suspended oil processing, accounting for some 170kb/d or 48% of Ryazan’s refining capacity. Finally, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in a press release that it “affirms its full commitment to the OPEC+ agreement” to cap oil output at 4mb/d, with the restart of Kurdistan oil exports appearing imminent. At the time of writing, the Apr/May’25 and Apr/Oct’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.47/bbl and $2.50/bbl, respectively.
