The Feb’25 Brent futures contract strengthened this morning from $73.45/bbl at 07:00 GMT up to $74.10/bbl around 10:50 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices saw support amid reports that Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities this morning, targeting power substations and gas infrastructure, industry sources told Reuters. In the news today, Russian forces are advancing towards the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, now focusing on consolidating control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine where Russia occupies over 60% of the territory, as per Reuters. In other news, Canadian oil producers plan to hike output next year, with Cenovus setting a growth target of 4.4% between 805kb/d and 845kb/d, driven by the start-up of the Narrows Lake oil sands project. Suncor also aims to boost production in 2025 by 4.4% to between 810kb/d and 840kb/d. Finally, Nigeria’s Seplat Energy is set to revive hundreds of Exxon’s idle Nigerian oil wells after completing its purchase of Exxon’s onshore oil and gas assets in the West African nation, according to Bloomberg. Seplat plans to increase oil output by 200kb/d, with CEO Samson Ezugworie stating in a Thursday interview that only 200 of around 600 blocks are currently producing. At the time of writing, the Feb/Mar’25 and Feb/Aug’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.37/bbl and $1.58/bbl, respectively.
