The October Brent Futures contract experienced a mixed afternoon, trading sideways initially between $77.50/bbl and $77.85/bbl before rallying up to $78.30/bbl around 15:00 BST and experiencing a strong correction downwards to trade at $77.30/bbl at the time of writing (17:30 BST). In headlines, BP will develop Iraq’s Kirkuk oil and gas fields under a profit-sharing model. The Iraqi oil ministry and BP are expected to sign a confidentiality agreement, after which Iraq will hand over the data package for Kirkuk’s four fields and installations, which currently produce 245kbpd of crude. Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, relies heavily on crude exports for over 90% of its revenue; In May, TotalEnergies agreed to a $27 billion energy project with Iraq, which would see Total build 4 oil, gas, and renewables projects in southern Iraq over 25 years with an initial investment of $10 billion. Iraq accepted a 30% stake after initial delays due to political disputes, but with recent improvements in geopolitical stability, prospects for further foreign investments are strong. At the time of writing, the Oct/Nov and Oct/Apr’25 Brent spreads are at $0.60/bbl and $2.27/bbl respectively.
