Nov’24 Brent futures fl at price increased sharply this afternoon after a period of volatility, pricing at $76.80/bbl at 12:00 BSTand reaching $77.42/bbl at 17:50 BST (time of writing). In the news, Russian oil shipping costs to India are easing, attributedto build-up in Russia’s fl eet and general weakness in the freight market. For mid-September, the cost for a Russian tanker totransport 100,000 mt has dropped to $4.25-$4.5 million compared to $4.7-$4.9 million for the period July to August. In othernews, a Reuters survey showed that Saudi Arabia could reduce the price of its crude loading for Asia in October. Theirsignature crude grade, Arab Light, is expected to be priced $0.50 to $0.70/bbl lower than the September prices. The pricereduction comes as a result of weaker Dubai benchmark prices and decreasing refi nery margins across Asia. Finally, Libyahas declared force majeure on El-Feel oil fi eld, a legal clause allowing exports to be halted, amid a widening shutdown ofproduction across the country. The El-Feel fi eld in the southwest was pumping approximately 70 kb/d when in operation andthe nation’s total oil output has more than halved since last week. At the time of writing, the front month (Nov/Dec’24) andsix-month (Nov/May’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.75/bbl and $2.38/bbl, respectively.
