The Dec’25 Brent futures contract has fallen this afternoon, from $64.94/bbl at 14:00 GMT to $64.37/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Slovakia’s Slovnaft refinery (capacity 4.8mmt) has stated that Croatian pipeline operator JANAF has cut non-Russian crude deliveries, citing technical reasons. A spokesperson for the Slovak refinery has described this move as one that will “jeopardise” the flow of non-Russian crude to Central Europe, calling it a breach of contract on JANAF’s part. Elsewhere, Reuters has reported that Russian ESPO-blend crude oil has fallen to a discount against Brent at delivery in Chinese ports for the first time in roughly a year. According to Reuters, this is attributed to new Western sanctions and falling import quotas for Chinese refineries, which in turn reduce demand. In other news, Oil India Limited has about $300mn in dividends from its stakes in Russian oil fields at Russian banks that it is unable to withdraw, per Indian Oil Minister Ranjit Rath. U.S. sanctions on JSC Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha LLC, where Rosneft holds just above 50% of shares, are facing complicated fund transfers. According to Rath, the company is seeking legal options. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Dec/Jan’26 and 6-month Dec/Jun’26 spreads are at $0.58/bbl and $1.20/bbl, respectively.
