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Brent Declines to $71.26/bbl

Hungary to release crude from strategic reserves; US negotiating Venezuelan oil sales to India; Russian exports down; Shell gas project
Published: February 20, 2026
Written by:
Donna Dong

Donna Dong

Research Analyst, Flux
Donna Dong
Reviewed by:
Mita Chaturvedi

Mita Chaturvedi

Research Associate, Flux
Mita Chaturvedi
and
Martha Dowding

Martha Dowding

Research Associate, Flux
Martha Dowding
4 page report
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The Apr’26 Brent futures contract has declined this morning, from $72.30/bbl at 06:35 GMT to $71.26/bbl at 10:00 GMT (time of writing).

In the news, the Hungarian government is set to release 250kb of crude oil from its strategic reserves following the halt of oil flows from the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary’s oil company MOL is entitled to priority access, according to a decree from the official journal of the government. Elsewhere, the US is engaged in "active negotiations" regarding the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, aimed at helping India diversify its crude oil sources, according to US Envoy Sergio Gor. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Gor said, "The Department of Energy is speaking to the Ministry of Energy here, and so we're hoping to have some news of that very soon.” In other news, Kpler reports that February’s Russian oil exports to India sit at 1.2mb/d, maintaining Russia as India’s largest oil supplier. However, this level is much lower than the over 2mb/d imported during some periods over the past three years. The flow is expected to decline further in future months. In Britain, a Shell spokesperson stated that the company plans to proceed with a natural gas project in Venezuela after Washington issued general licenses for energy operators willing to invest in the country. Speaking to Reuters, Shell’s spokesperson stated that “the issuance of the recent general licenses is a positive signal, and it, indeed, allows for progress on our Dragon project.” Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Apr/May’26) and 6-month (Apr/Oct’26) Brent futures spreads are at $0.38/bbl and $3.26/bbl, respectively.

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