The Feb’26 Brent futures contract continued to slip this afternoon, from $59.76/bbl at 12:30 GMT to $58.72/bbl at 15:40 GMT. Prices have since risen slightly to $59.14/bbl at 17:00 GMT. The last time M1 Brent closed below $60/bbl was in early Feb 2021. In the news, the US Treasury Department has declined a bid from a consortium of companies, led by investment bank Xtellus Partners, to acquire Russia’s Lukoil’s foreign assets. The agreement included a condition that the sale proceeds be used to compensate US investors in Lukoil who lost money after the stock freeze caused by the Ukraine war. The assets, valued at ~$22bn, have since seen Midad Energy, Chevron, Exxon, Hungarian MOL, Emirati, and Carlyle step forward as potential buyers. Elsewhere, a strike at Brazil’s Petrobras has affected 24 oil platforms and 8 refineries, according to the union FUP. The union noted that nine transport units, three thermal power plants, two biodiesel plants, and five onshore oil fields were also impacted. Petrobras, in another statement, reaffirmed that the mobilisation has not yet affected output. In Venezuela, state-run company PDVSA is managing delayed oil cargoes, increasing price discounts, and customer demands to modify spot contract terms, following the US seizure of a vessel carrying the country’s crude. According to Reuters sources, discounts on Venezuela’s Merey crude bound for China have risen to as much as $21 below Brent, up from $14-$15/bbl last week. In other news, Shell has approved a waterflood project at the Kaikias field in the US Gulf of Mexico to enhance oil recovery and prolong the lifespan of its Ursa platform. This initiative is projected to add 60mb of oil equivalent to the recoverable resources. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Feb/Mar’26) and 6-month (Feb/Aug’26) spreads are at $0.25/bbl and $0.07/bbl, respectively.
