The Dec’25 Brent futures contract rose this morning, from $65.87/bbl at 02:00 BST to $66.08/bbl at 11:30 BST (time of writing). In the news, Reuters have reported that the Indian Oil Corporation have begun paying Russian oil traders in Chinese yuan. State-owned firms have not paid in yuan since 2023, but private Indian firms have continued using alternative currencies. In other news, Taiwan’s Economy Minister, Kung Ming-hsin, has said that its private refiners are willing to cease Russian Naphtha imports, after criticisms came from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Taiwanese state-owned firms have not imported Russian oil since 2023, but private refineries are still free to do so. Minister Ming-hsin has said that if the EU sanctions Russian Naphtha, Taiwan’s private sector is prepared to follow suit. Elsewhere, Britain’s Serica Energy has cut its production forecast for the second time in a month, due to a disruption at the Triton floating storage vessel. While an exact estimate is not yet available, Serica CEO Chris Cox said in a public statement that the company expects fiscal 2025 production to be below the previously forecasted 29-32kb/d. Additionally, Bloomberg has reported that ExxonMobil is considering a return to Iraq, to develop the estimated 38bnb Majnoon field; a deal could be made within the coming week. In another Bloomberg report, Exxon has been in talks with Iraqi SOMO for crude oil storage facilities located closer to demand hubs in the US, Asia, and Europe. Finally, at time of writing, the front month Dec/Jan’26 and 6-month Dec/Jun’26 spreads are at $0.57/bbl and $1.16/bbl, respectively.
