The Oct’25 Brent Futures contract was softened overnight and this morning, reaching $65.75/bbl at 10.19 BST, rising slightly to $66.00/bbl at 11.15 (time of writing). Zelenskyy praised “significant” talks with Trump and European leaders on ending the war, while UK PM Starmer leads a “coalition of the willing” meeting on Ukraine’s security. Trump has spoken with Putin about a possible Zelenskyy–Putin summit, with Macron suggesting Geneva. Security guarantees under discussion could include military support or intelligence sharing. China’s imports of Russia’s Urals crude rose to about 75 kb/d in August, nearly double the year-to-date average of 40 kb/d, as it snapped up discounted cargoes India avoided. India’s intake fell sharply to around 400 kb/d this month, compared with an average of 1.18 mb/d earlier in the year, after the US doubled tariffs on Indian goods in response to its Russian oil purchases. At least two 1mb Urals tankers are waiting off China’s coast, with more expected in the coming weeks, Bloomberg tracking shows. Chinese refiners expanded October–November Urals purchases at competitive prices. According to Reuters sources, Raisa Energy is exploring a potential $1.5 billion sale of a portfolio of oil and gas wells spread across several US shale basins. The process is still in the early, preliminary stages, with details yet to be finalised. ONGC, which produces about 70% of India’s crude and 84% of its gas, has faced falling output in recent years but saw its first crude growth in FY25 (+0.9%). It is deploying global best practices to revive production, partnering with BP under a new TSP framework for Mumbai High, and targeting FY26 gains from new discoveries and the Daman Upside Development Project. Finally, the front-month Oct/Nov spread is $0.55/bbl, and the 6-month Oct/Apr spread is $1.33/bbl.
