The Jul’25 Brent futures contract fell off this morning to $61.17/bbl at 07:34 BST. Prices then rallied to $61.96/bbl at 11:32 BST (time of writing). In the news, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin and to attend Russia’s WWII victory parade, despite Ukrainian drone strikes on the city ahead of his visit. Xi’s trip signals strong China-Russia ties amid tensions with the West, as both countries push for a “multipolar world” and resist US influence. Talks will cover energy cooperation and the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, though no deal is expected during the visit. In other news, ADNOC Drilling posted a 24% rise in Q1 profit to $341 million, driven by a 134% surge in oilfield services revenue. Total revenue grew 33% to $1.17B. The company affirmed its 2025 guidance of $1.35–1.45B in profit and $4.6–4.8B in revenue. It approved a $217 million quarterly dividend and plans $1B in 2025 spending. Canadian Natural Resources reported Q1 earnings that exceeded expectations, driven by increased oil and gas production and stronger commodity prices. Production rose to 1.58 mb/d, up from 1.33mb/d last year, aided by its recent $6.5B acquisition of assets in the Athabasca oil sands and Duvernay shale. Despite cutting its annual capital spending, Canadian Natural said the reduction would not affect operations or production targets, which remain between 1.51 and 1.55 mboe/d for 2025. Finaly, the front-month Jul/Aug and 6-month Jul/Jan’26 spreads are at $0.34/bbl and $0.63/bbl respectively.
