Naphtha

The Feb’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $62.69/bbl at 13:30 GMT to $61.00/bbl at 16:00 GMT. Prices met some support here, recovering to $62.15/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, the White House has said that ‘tremendous progress’ has been made towards a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Kyiv’s National Security Chief Rustem Umerov has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy may visit the US in the coming days to finalise an agreement with US President Donald Trump; Russia has yet to make an official statement on these developments. Elsewhere, Reuters has reported that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has restarted loadings after overnight Ukrainian drone attacks, which damaged its office. Details on the extent of disruptions to operations have not been confirmed, though a Reuters source claims that operations have mostly been unaffected. In India, Kpler data initially suggest that November oil imports are set to reach their highest level in five months, as refiners rushed to secure barrels before a US deadline to cease transactions with sanctioned Russian oil producers took effect. India has been the largest buyer of discounted seaborne Russian crude since Western sanctions were imposed on oil majors. Elsewhere, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak mentioned that Russia could increase its oil exports to China by extending current agreements. Novak noted that a deal for exporting Russian crude through Kazakhstan could be extended for an additional 10 years, until 2033. Earlier this year, Russia suggested that increasing pipeline flows might raise the amount of oil reaching China through the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline by 2.5mb/y. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Feb/Mar’26 and 6-month Feb/Aug’26 spreads are at $0.32/bbl and $0.40/bbl, respectively.

The Jan’26 Brent futures contract rose this afternoon, from $62.36/bbl at 14:30 GMT to $62.92/bbl at 17:00 GMT. In the news, Russia’s Tuapse refinery (capacity 240kb/d) has restarted processing crude after drone attacks earlier this month. According to LSEG data, Russia’s Tuapse port resumed oil product exports last week, following its two-week suspension. As per Reuters sources, a Gambia-flagged tanker left the Black Sea port on 17 November with roughly 30kt of gasoil on board, and a Malawi-flagged Satna loaded the same volume of gasoil on 18 November. Elsewhere, the Serbian government has announced that the country has sufficient fuel reserves to meet domestic demand, even as its key NIS oil refinery risks closure due to US sanctions on its Russian owners. Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic stated that NIS’s operational reserves, along with all other reserves stored with NIS, amounted to 90kt of diesel and 53.6kt of gasoline. In other news, China’s Unipec has signed a deal to supply roughly 60kt of jet fuel to Lufthansa annually, per a company in-house newspaper. The supplies are poised to feed Lufthansa’s supply chains at airports in Belgium and Germany. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 are at $0.62/bbl and $1.20/bbl, respectively.

The Jan’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $63.05/bbl at 13:15 GMT to $62.31/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, discounts for Russian Urals crude at Indian ports have tripled since August compared to Dated Brent, due to US sanctions pushing away major Russian crude buyers. Urals cargoes for December delivery are trading at discounts of $5-6/bbl to Dated Brent as compared to the $1-2/bbl levels seen in August. In a Reuters report, China has imported substantial quantities of crude oil from Indonesia, to which Reuters’ sources have claimed are a method of masking shipments of sanctioned Iranian crude shipping from Malaysia amid scrutiny. Although there have been no official imports of Iranian crude by China since 2022, customs data consistently indicates that Malaysia-sourced oil appears more frequently than Malaysia’s actual production suggests. China’s crude imports from Indonesia rose to 236kb/d in October, per Chinese customs. Indonesian customs report 1.7mt exported from January to September, with only about 25kt going to China. Finally, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.62/bbl and $1.17/bbl, respectively.

The front-month Brent futures contract dropped from $64.35/bbl at 15:50 GMT to $63.90/bbl at 16:20 GMT before easing further to $63.15/bbl at the time of writing (17:08 GMT). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly agreed to work on the US’ draft plan to end the Russo-Ukrainian war. Meanwhile, private Indian refiner Reliance has stopped importing Russian crude oil into its refining complex at Jamnagar in Western India, effective 20 Nov – ahead of the US deadline for sanctions on Russian crude oil buyers. In other news, oil from Lukoil’s PJSC share of a field in Iraq continues to flow to global markets, as state marketer SOMO (State Organisation for Marketing of Oil) has taken over sales and is retaining any proceeds in Iraq for the time being, according to Bloomberg. In macro news, US non-farm payrolls climbed to 119,000 in September, from a revised 4,000 in August; however, the unemployment rate increased to a four-year high of 4.4%. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Jan/Feb’26) and six-month (Jan/Jul’26) Brent futures spreads stand at $0.54/bbl and $1.24/bbl, respectively.

he Jan’26 Brent futures contract has risen this afternoon, from $62.91/bbl at 15:00 GMT to $63.59/bbl at 16:15 GMT. Prices have since eased to $63.34/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has stated that Russia is set to reach its OPEC+ oil production quota (~9.5mb/d in November) by early 2026, claiming that recent sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil have not impacted production. Novak also claimed that Russia has fully compensated for its previous overproduction and that no voluntary output reduction is being considered at this time. Elsewhere, data from the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) has shown that Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports have reached a 7-month high in September, reaching 6.5mb/d. JODI data also indicated that world oil demand in September surged by 1.4mb/d, led by higher consumption in the US and Indonesia. In other news, Rosneft has slashed its stake in the Kurdistan Pipeline Company (KPC) to less than 50% to protect it from US sanctions, according to Reuters; an 11% stake was sold to UAE-based DEX Capital. In other news, Reuters sources have reported that TotalEnergies and Chevron are leading the race to purchase a 40% operating stake in Galp’s Mopane discovery in Namibia. Mopane has estimated some 10mb of oil at the discovery, with an auction winner being announced by the end of the year. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.47/bbl and $1.04/bbl, respectively.

The Jan’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $64.25/bbl at 14:00 GMT to $64.01/bbl at 16:45 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters has reported that Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery (capacity 340kb/d) has halted its crude processing after a Ukrainian drone strike last weekend. According to Reuters sources, the refinery is expected to be offline until the end of the month, and no oil loadings are scheduled until after 01 December. Elsewhere, Reuters has also reported that crude loadings at Russia’s Novorossiysk port are 2-3 days delayed due to damage on a key jetty at the facility from a Ukrainian attack. Damages were reported at berth 1 and 1A, which both handle 140kt Suezmax tankers; the former continues to remain idle. In a Bloomberg report, Chinese imports of Russian and Iranian oil are set to drop this month as sanctions continue to disrupt global flows. Estimates by Rystad Energy, as cited by Bloomberg, suggest that imports from Russia could drop 800kb/d in November, while Chinese imports of Iranian crude could drop by roughly 30% in November compared to previous months. In other news, Ukrainian private energy firm DTEK announced that it delivered its first US LNG shipment via the northern route from Lithuania, as Ukraine seeks to diversify its gas import sources. Once re-gasified, the gas will then head to Eastern European markets, including Ukraine and Poland. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.40/bbl and $0.93/bbl, respectively.

The Jan’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $64.70/bbl at 14:00 GMT to $64.37/bbl at 17:15 GMT (time of writing). In the news, the BBC has reported that a Turkish LPG tanker was struck by Russian drones in the Odesa port of Izmail. Civilian vessels were reportedly damaged, and the nearby village of Plauru has been ordered to evacuate. The tanker, Orinda, carried 4kt of gas; exact damages and impacts have yet to be officially reported. In other news, Reuters has reported that Iraq is seeking a 6-month waiver from US sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil to delay the selling of its stake in the West-Qurna-2 oilfield. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has met with Vagit Alekperov, the former CEO of Lukoil, according to the Prime Minister’s office, to discuss the waiver request. No further details were given. In the US, Chevron is reportedly considering options to acquire Lukoil’s foreign assets, according to Reuters’ sources. Chevron looks to purchase assets where the companies overlap, though no official comment has been made from the US major. In other news, Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced that international oil firms in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have loaded their first export shipment from Turkey’s Ceyhan terminal. The company anticipates payment for its share of the first cargo within 30 days and a second lifting at the end of this month. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.44/bbl and $0.99/bbl, respectively.

The Jan’26 Brent futures contract rose this afternoon, from $63.70/bbl at 13:30 GMT to $64.60/bbl at 16:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters has reported that Russia’s Saratov oil refinery (capacity 147kb/d) has halted operations following Ukrainian drone attacks. Per Reuters’ sources, the refinery could remain down until the end of this month. Elsewhere, a Bloomberg report states that Iran has seized an oil tanker shortly after it passed the Strait of Hormuz; the Marshall Island-flagged tanker, Talara, was seized in the Gulf of Oman. On board is high-sulfur gasoil from the UAE’s port of Hamriyah, which was loaded in October. Iran has yet to acknowledge or officially comment on the incident. In Britain, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has paused sanctions that will permit Bulgaria’s Burgas refinery (owned by Russia’s Lukoil) to resume business with firms and banks. The granted special license allows payments and economic resources to pass between two Bulgarian entities under existing or new contracts and is set to expire on 14 February 2026. A Reuters source has reportedly claimed that the US is expected to issue a similar license later today, though no official statements have been made. In other news, Russia’s Lukoil has stated that it is in talks with potential buyers of its foreign assets, saying that the “specific deal will be announced after the final agreements have been reached and the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.” No information on the potential buyer(s) was detailed in the Reuters report. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.41/bbl and $1.01/bbl, respectively.