Donna Dong
Research Analyst, Flux
Brent Eases to $64.91/bbl
Kazakhstan diverts crude domestically; US eyes boosting Venezuela output; Reliance resumes sanctions-compliant imports
The Mar’26 Brent futures contract traded up to $65.38/bbl at 13:30 GMT before easing to $64.91/bbl at 16:50 GMT (time of writing).
In the news, oil production at Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield may be paused for another 7-10 days following its shutdown this past Sunday, which will reduce crude exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. The field's operator, Tengizchevroil, cited power supply problems as the cause of the production disruption. Reuters sources added that, as a result of the incident, TCO had cancelled five export cargoes of CPC Blend crude, totalling approximately 4.4-5.1mb, which were scheduled to be shipped from the CPC's Black Sea terminal in January and February. Elsewhere, the last tankers carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil, loaded before the US seizure of Nicolas Maduro, are due to arrive in China within a few days, marking what is likely the end of Chinese imports of cheap Venezuelan crude, as exports are now under US control. According to Bloomberg, two tankers, the Tamia and the Loyalty, are among the last arrivals into Asia and are carrying a combined 3.8mb of crude; these vessels are currently en route east of the Cape of Good Hope and are expected to arrive next month. In other news, Turkish Petroleum is currently in talks with Chevron to jointly explore oil and gas, as per Bloomberg. While little details have been reported, the Turkish state energy company would work with the US major on seismic studies as well as drilling. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month and 6-month spreads are $0.74/bbl and $2.04/bbl.
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