The Jan’26 Brent futures contract eased this afternoon, from $64.10/bbl at 14:00 GMT to $63.42/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters reported that Russia’s Lukoil has declared force majeure at its Iraqi oil field, West Qurna-2 (capacity 480kb/d), with Bulgaria well poised to seize the refinery. According to a senior Iraqi oil industry official, if the reasons for the extenuating circumstances are not resolved within six months, Lukoil will cease production and completely withdraw from the project. In other news, a Reuters report has stated that India’s HPCL refiner is seeking two cargoes of naphtha for November delivery, following the disruption of its Russian supplies amid US sanctions on Russia; the prompt tender has been extended to 12 November. Elsewhere, Eni and Petronas plan to initiate as many as eight new upstream projects in Indonesia and Malaysia over the next three years, according to Eni’s Chief Executive, Claudio Descalzi. The joint venture intends to combine a portfolio of gas-producing and development assets in Malaysia and Indonesia, with an initial production rate exceeding 300 kb/d. Finally, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.22/bbl and $0.36/bbl.
