The Jan’26 Brent futures contract rose this afternoon, from $63.70/bbl at 13:30 GMT to $64.60/bbl at 16:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters has reported that Russia’s Saratov oil refinery (capacity 147kb/d) has halted operations following Ukrainian drone attacks. Per Reuters’ sources, the refinery could remain down until the end of this month. Elsewhere, a Bloomberg report states that Iran has seized an oil tanker shortly after it passed the Strait of Hormuz; the Marshall Island-flagged tanker, Talara, was seized in the Gulf of Oman. On board is high-sulfur gasoil from the UAE’s port of Hamriyah, which was loaded in October. Iran has yet to acknowledge or officially comment on the incident. In Britain, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has paused sanctions that will permit Bulgaria’s Burgas refinery (owned by Russia’s Lukoil) to resume business with firms and banks. The granted special license allows payments and economic resources to pass between two Bulgarian entities under existing or new contracts and is set to expire on 14 February 2026. A Reuters source has reportedly claimed that the US is expected to issue a similar license later today, though no official statements have been made. In other news, Russia’s Lukoil has stated that it is in talks with potential buyers of its foreign assets, saying that the “specific deal will be announced after the final agreements have been reached and the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.” No information on the potential buyer(s) was detailed in the Reuters report. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.41/bbl and $1.01/bbl, respectively.
