The Nov’25 Brent Futures contract initially rallied to $67.34/bbl at 09:22 BST, prices then fell to $66.80/bbl at 10:19 BST. At 11:10 BST (time of writing) prices trade at $66.86/bbl. In the news, Nigeria’s 650kb/d Dangote refinery has taken its 204kb/d gasoline-producing RFCC unit offline due to catalyst leaks and other issues, with repairs expected to take at least two weeks. The outage began around August 29, according to IIR Energy. This latest disruption adds to earlier struggles at the plant, which was already expected to run at reduced capacity through October. The outage is tightening Atlantic Basin gasoline supplies, boosting US refining margins. In other news, California lawmakers have approved the sale of E15 gasoline, a blend with 15% ethanol, aiming to lower fuel prices in the state. California had been the only US state banning E15. The move is expected to benefit biofuel producers and corn farmers by expanding ethanol demand, with a University of California study estimating a potential 20-cent-per-gallon price drop. Newsom had previously ordered a study on higher ethanol use, but it remains incomplete. Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft has secured a new deal to supply an additional 2.5 million metric tons of oil annually to China via Kazakhstan, according to Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev. The new volume adds to the existing 10.2 million tons of oil already being transited through Kazakhstan to China in 2024. Finally, the front-month Nov/Dec spread is at $0.41/bbl and the 6-month Nov/May spread is at $1.08/bbl.
