Donna Dong
Research Analyst, Flux
Brent Briefly Breaks $73/bbl
Brent around mid-$70s; US takes Venezuelan oil proceeds direct to Treasury; Saudi Aramco pushes Jafurah gas; Russia exports stable into 2025
The May’26 Brent futures contract briefly broke $73/bbl this afternoon, before easing to $72.45/bbl at 16:55 GMT (time of writing).
The Apr'26 Brent contract is currently printing $72.50/bbl ahead of expiry. In the Apr/May Brent futures spread, prices reached a low of -$0.52/bbl today, and are printing flat as of the time of writing. In the news, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has stated that revenue from Venezuelan oil sales is no longer funnelled through a Qatar-based fund. Instead, it now goes directly to accounts managed by the US Treasury Department. This change follows an American executive order issued last month to safeguard funds from creditors seeking to seize Venezuelan assets. Wright added that the situation with debt owed to bondholders, former business partners, and expropriated companies continues to grow. He also mentioned that, although President Donald Trump currently has no plans to visit Venezuela, it remains a very real possibility. Elsewhere, Saudi Aramco is advancing a major natural gas project that could significantly increase the kingdom’s revenues in the coming years. It has partnered with US and Chinese companies like Halliburton and Sinopec to utilise advanced equipment, such as 'walking rigs' – large structures that can move short distances without needing to be dismantled – to accelerate drilling and well completion processes in the Jafurah basin. The basin is estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion barrels of condensate. In other news, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia’s oil exports were essentially net zero in 2025 compared with a year earlier, with 80% of supplies going to China and India. In 2025, Russian oil exports were estimated at 4.8mb/d, nearly flush with 2024’s estimates. Finally, at the time of writing, the May/Jun and May/Nov Brent futures spreads are at $0.49/bbl and $3.58/bbl, respectively.
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