The Feb’26 Brent futures contract has traded relatively rangebound this afternoon, between the $62.80/bbl and $63.00/bbl handles. Levels are at $62.81/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters reported that Iraq has halted all oil production at Lukoil’s West Qurna-2 oilfield (capacity 460kb/d), following a leak on an export pipeline. Elsewhere, Reuters also reported that Kazakhstan intends to supply 50kt of crude oil directly from the Kashagan field to China in December, via the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline. This marks the first since a Ukrainian drone attack damaged the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) Black Sea terminal. The CPC reportedly will not return to full export capacity until at least 11 December, due to weather and diving challenges; the terminal handles roughly 80% of Kazakh oil exports. Some volumes have been diverted to other destinations, though options for re-routing the bulk of its oil are limited. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies announced that it will merge its upstream UK business with French major NEO NEXT to create the largest independent oil and gas producer in Britain, NEO NEXT+. The deal is subject to conditions, such as regulatory approvals, which are expected in the first half of next year. NEO NEXT+ will target a production of over 250kb/d in 2026, according to TotalEnergies. In other news, Bloomberg data show that the LNG tanker Valera, sanctioned by the US, has docked at the Chinese LNG port of Beihai. This marks China’s first shipment from a Russian LNG export project on the Baltic Sea sanctioned by the US. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Feb/Mar’26 and 6-month Feb/Aug’26 spreads are at $0.35/bbl and $0.90/bbl, respectively.
