The Jan’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $64.70/bbl at 14:00 GMT to $64.37/bbl at 17:15 GMT (time of writing). In the news, the BBC has reported that a Turkish LPG tanker was struck by Russian drones in the Odesa port of Izmail. Civilian vessels were reportedly damaged, and the nearby village of Plauru has been ordered to evacuate. The tanker, Orinda, carried 4kt of gas; exact damages and impacts have yet to be officially reported. In other news, Reuters has reported that Iraq is seeking a 6-month waiver from US sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil to delay the selling of its stake in the West-Qurna-2 oilfield. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has met with Vagit Alekperov, the former CEO of Lukoil, according to the Prime Minister’s office, to discuss the waiver request. No further details were given. In the US, Chevron is reportedly considering options to acquire Lukoil’s foreign assets, according to Reuters’ sources. Chevron looks to purchase assets where the companies overlap, though no official comment has been made from the US major. In other news, Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced that international oil firms in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have loaded their first export shipment from Turkey’s Ceyhan terminal. The company anticipates payment for its share of the first cargo within 30 days and a second lifting at the end of this month. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.44/bbl and $0.99/bbl, respectively.
