The Oct’25 Brent Futures contract slowly rallied to $67.48/bbl at 08:19 BST, before falling to $67.29/bbl at 09:16 BST. Prices have since recovered back up to $67.49/bbl at 11:10 BST (time of writing). In the news, Nayara Energy, the Indian refiner partly owned by Rosneft, has continued importing Russian crude using sanctioned tankers, according to LSEG data. Despite EU sanctions targeting companies linked to Russian oil, Nayara received at least seven cargoes totalling 700 kb on vessels under sanction. India, which only recognises UN sanctions, not EU ones, remains defiant in its trade ties with Russia. Nayara, which operates India’s second-largest refinery at Vadinar, has significantly reduced its crude purchases in recent months. In other news, Aker BP and its partners have made a major oil discovery in Norway’s North Sea, adding an estimated 96 – 134 mb of recoverable oil equivalent to the Yggdrasil field area. Called Omega Alfa, it’s one of Norway’s biggest commercial finds in a decade. The discovery spans three licenses shared by Aker BP, Equinor, Orlen, and Petoro. Norway’s DNO has restarted oil production at Iraq’s Tawke and Peshkabir fields in Kurdistan after last month’s drone attacks halted operations. While repairs are ongoing, test output has reached 55 kb/d, about half the pre-attack level. DNO, which holds a 75% stake, aims to restore full production to 100 kb/d long term. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $35 million. Finally the front-month Oct/Nov spread is at $0.57/bbl and the 6-month Oct/Apr spread is at $1.58/bbl.
