The Mar’26 Brent futures contract has risen through the late morning and early afternoon, from $61.07/bbl at 09:00 GMT to $61.57/bbl at 13:15 GMT (time of writing). In the news, India’s Russian oil imports are expected to drop to 1.2mb/d in December, reaching their lowest level in 3 years. This represents a decrease from 1.84mb/d in November, according to Kpler. Related, Reuters reports that Indian Oil Corp has purchased its first Colombian oil from the state oil company Ecopetrol, as tighter sanctions on Russian oil disrupt imports. The purchase outlines 2mb of Colombian Castilla crude for late February delivery. Elsewhere, China has begun issuing its second batch of 2026 crude quotas to refiners, with Reuters sources claiming that at least one major Chinese independent refiner has received 220kb/d for the first two batches of quota combined. In other news, at least two oil tankers have made their way to Venezuela in recent days, with more expected to follow. The tankers are part of a fleet used by China and Venezuela to pay debt service with crude destined for Chinese ports, under swaps and arrangements made since Venezuela was first placed under US energy sanctions in 2019. It remains unclear whether China will seek a US waiver to ensure delivery of these cargoes. Chevron tankers bound for the US remain the only loaded ships departing the country. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Mar/Apr’26) and 6-month (Mar/Sep’26) spreads are at $0.33/bbl and $0.68/bbl, respectively.
