The Jan’26 Brent Futures contract rallied this morning to $64.33 at 09:30 GMT before softening to $63.88/bbl ay 10:30 GMT (time of writing). In the news, India’s Reliance Industries is attempting to re-sell some Middle Eastern crude oil it recently purchased to replace Russian supplies affected by new US sanctions, according to trade sources. The firm, which has a long-term agreement with Rosneft for 500 kb/d, said it would comply with Western sanctions while maintaining relationships with other oil partners. While Reliance is estimated to have bought as much as 16 mb of spot crude in total, it has begun offering part of these volumes for re-sale, including 1 mb of Basrah Medium sold to a Greek refiner at a profit. In other news, ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with Energean and Helleniq Energy to explore for natural gas offshore western Greece. The project covers Block 2 and could see first gas production in the early 2030s if exploration and testing prove successful. The investment is expected to range between $50 – 100 million. ExxonMobil will hold a 60% stake and assume the role of operator should test drilling confirm viable gas reserves. A fire at the Naftan oil refinery in northern Belarus was extinguished without injuries, the emergency ministry said. The state Belta news agency reported it was caused by an incident involving diesel fuel at a technological unit. The Novopolotsk refinery processes over 200kb/d. Finally, the front-month Jan/Feb and 6-month Jan/Jul spreads are at $0.23/bbl and $0.33/bbl respectively.
