The Sep’25 Brent futures contract fell to $68.78/bbl at 15:11 BST, before rallying up ot $69.31 at 16:31 BST. Prices have since fallen back to $68.80/bbl at 17:25 BST (time of writing). In the news, Iraq has signed a preliminary deal with US company HKN Energy to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, with plans to increase production to 60kb/d from the current 20kb/d to 25kb/d. This announcement coincides with HKN Energy reporting an explosion that halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in the Kurdistan region. In other news, the European Commission has promised to address Slovakia’s concerns about the EU’s plan to phase out Russian gas imports by 1 January 2028, in order to secure agreement on a new sanctions package against Russia. Slovakia has been blocking the sanctions package, warning that quitting Russian gas could trigger shortages, higher prices and transit fees, and legal claims from Gazprom. The EU aims to finalise the sanctions package at a foreign ministers’ meeting, where unanimous approval is needed. The separate proposal to ban Russian gas however, only needs a reinforced majority, meaning Slovakia cannot single-handedly veto it. Nigeria aims to secure a higher OPEC+ production target of 2 mb/d for 2027, up from its current quota of 1.5 mb/d. Despite historically producing below quota due to challenges like oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Nigeria has recently increased output to about 1.4 mb/d. The government is pushing oil companies to boost production, and talks are underway within OPEC+ to set 2027 quotas. Finally, the front-month Sep/Oct spread is at $0.91/bbl and the 6-month Sep/Mar’26 spread is at $2.39/bbl.
