The Mar’26 Brent futures contract has risen from $62.26/bbl at 13:35 GMT to $63.76/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, the US has seized the Olina tanker in the Caribbean, which was flying a false flag of Timor-Leste and sailing from Venezuela. The ship was loaded with Venezuelan oil and departed as part of a flotilla on 03 Jan, shortly after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. According to shipping data, the vessel has returned to the region. Elsewhere, a Reuters survey revealed that OPEC’s oil output decreased in December, as supply from Iran and Venezuela fell, offsetting a previous OPEC+ agreement to increase production for the month. According to the report, OPEC produced 28.4mb/d in December, down 100kb/d from November’s revised total. Elsewhere, Serbia’s Russian-owned NIS has imported its first crude oil shipments required to restart the country’s sole refinery after securing a US sanctions waiver. The initial 623kb cargo of Iraqi Kirkuk crude oil is reportedly stored at the Omisalj terminal in Croatia, from where it will be delivered to Serbia through the Adriatic Pipeline. NIS has also arranged a smaller shipment of Libyan Es Sider crude for delivery later in January. In India, Reliance Industries is requesting US approval to restart buying Venezuelan crude. Reliance’s representatives are in discussions with the US State Department and Treasury to obtain authorisation, as Washington and Caracas negotiate the shipment of 50mb of oil following the capture of President Maduro. Finally, at the time of writing, the front month (Mar/Apr) and 6-month (Mar/Sep) spreads are at $0.58/bbl and $1.50/bbl, respectively.
