The Nov’24 Brent futures price inched up this afternoon from $74.59/bbl at 12:00 BST to $74.76/bbl at 17:30 BST (time of writing). In the news today, Russia has boosted its use of sanctioned tankers to export oil, demonstrating the country’s continued success in defying US and EU restrictions. Six oil tankers sanctioned by the UK, EU, or US, loaded oil cargoes from Russia in August and September, as per data compiled by Bloomberg. Furthermore, at least 17 tankers, the majority owned by Sovcomflot, have been reported leaving Russian ports with crude oil since the end of April. In response, the US has asked at least one shipping insurer for information on 14 companies it suspects violated sanctions on Russian crude oil. In other news, India’s August crude oil imports rose 6.4% y/y to 19.9 million tons, up the most since May according to data published by the Indian oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. Finally, TotalEnergies is set to develop $9 billion worth of oil resources in Suriname, reportedly ordering a hull for a 200 kb/d production vessel. Crude oil discoveries In Suriname have opened access to some 2.4 billion barrels in reserves, Wood Mackenzie analysts estimated. At the time of writing, the front month (Nov/Dec’24) and six-month (Nov/May’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.81/bbl and $2.14/bbl, respectively.
