Giovanni Simonetti
Junior Data Analyst, Flux
Brent Softens to $84.35/bbl
Bahrain's BAPCO hit by missile, LPG tankers rerouted to US, India buys Russian Crude
The May’26 Brent futures contract rallied all afternoon to $84.99/bbl at 16:19 GMT, before softening a touch to $84.35/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing).
In the news, Bahrain’s 380kb/d refinery BAPCO was hit by an Iranian missile earlier today on 5 March. Bahrain’s interior ministry confirmed the attack and said that the fire was under control, they added that there had been no loss of life and limited material damage. In other news, LPG tanker movements have been disrupted as the escalating conflict involving Iran has halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Several vessels originally scheduled to load gas in the Middle East have rerouted to the United States instead. The tanker Gas Bombax, chartered by BP, redirected from Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City to the Marcus Hook terminal in the US, while another vessel, BW Kizoku, changed course from Kuwait to Houston. With no LPG tankers crossing the Strait since 1 March and attacks on vessels continuing, ships are piling up in nearby waters, highlighting severe disruptions to global energy shipments. Elsewhere, India’s state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited has resumed purchases of Russian crude after a three-month pause, securing two Aframax cargoes scheduled for delivery later this month. The company bought the oil from a trader at a discount of about $13/bbl to dated Brent on a delivered basis. The deal was reportedly arranged before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. India’s imports of Russian oil had fallen to about 1.1 mb/d in January as New Delhi sought relief from US tariffs, but Moscow’s share of India’s imports may have rebounded to around 30% in February. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month May/Jun’26 spread is at $4.06/bbl and the six-month May/Nov’26 spread is at $11.85/bbl.
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