The November Brent Futures contract has seen a strong morning, rallying from $68.50/bbl at 08:00 BST to $69.37/bbl at the time of writing (11:30 BST). In headlines, the UK government, while sticking to its pledge not to issue new oil and gas exploration licenses, plans to give operators flexibility to pursue tiebacks linking adjacent resources to existing North Sea hubs, a senior Scottish Labour figure told the FT, noting that even marginal production gains would be allowed. A consultation launched earlier this year reaffirmed Labour’s no-new-licenses policy but sought input on managing existing fields, which will remain significant throughout the energy transition. Industry leaders argue that continued exploration and investment could cut reliance on imports, sustain domestic supply chains, and aid the shift to clean energy such as offshore wind. In other news, data has emerged highlighting that India has saved an estimated $12.6 bn since 2022 from discounted Russian crude, according to the Indian Express, with even larger implied savings as Russian oil redirected to India and China helped prevent prolonged Brent spikes above $100/bbl after Western sanctions on Moscow. The US has recently accused India of “profiteering,” but New Delhi has resisted pressure to scale back Russian imports. At the time of writing, the prompt (Nov/Dec) and 6-month (Nov/May) spreads are at $0.67/bbl and $1.84/bbl respectively.
