Donna Dong
Research Analyst, Flux
Brent Climbs to $109.72/bbl
ADNOC expands Fujairah exports; Trump weighs easing China sanctions; US vows SPR refill; Ukraine hits Russian energy sites
The Jul’26 Brent futures contract has climbed this afternoon, from $107.83/bbl at 14:05 BST to $109.72/bbl at 16:55 BST (time of writing).
In the news, ADNOC aims to have a new pipeline operational in 2027 that will double its oil export capacity via Fujairah, located outside the Strait of Hormuz. This project will further increase the UAE's export capacity through Fujairah to meet global energy demand. Elsewhere, President Donald Trump announced that he discussed Chinese oil companies that have been sanctioned for purchasing Iranian oil and will decide within the next few days whether to lift these bans. The US recently imposed sanctions on several Chinese oil refiners, including Hengli Petrochemical, one of the country's largest private refiners and a symbol of Beijing's efforts to modernise and upgrade its industry. "We talked about that, and I will make a decision over the next few days," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing Beijing. In other news, Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated at an event in Sabine Pass, Texas, that the US will refill every barrel of oil it releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Speaking to the media, he said, "We're releasing oil now, and for each barrel we're releasing, we're going to get at least 1.2 barrels of oil back into the reserve. We'll leave it fuller than when we started," he said. In Ukraine, the nation has increased its drone attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, targeting twice as many oil refineries since the beginning of the year, according to Russian officials on social media. These strikes, which have also damaged pipelines and storage sites, have reduced Russia's oil production, making it the third largest globally after the US and Saudi Arabia, and have placed additional strain on Moscow's federal budget, where oil and gas taxes make up about 25% of revenue. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Jul/Aug) and 6-month (Jul/Jan) Brent futures spreads are at $4.79/bbl and $20.93/bbl, respectively.
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