The October Brent Futures contract has seen strength this morning, trading from a low of $75.84 at 09:00 BST up to $76.26/bbl at the time of writing (11:20 BST). In headlines, Nigeria’s Dangote refinery plans to source more of its feedstock domestically for Q3, reducing U.S. crude intake. Previously, less than 75% of its crude came from domestic sources; In July, Dangote signalled a shift away from U.S. imports, cancelling two tenders for 6 mb of WTI for September, as reported by Bloomberg. Starting in October, the refinery will purchase up to 445 kb/d in local currency and once fully operational, will process 650 kb/d, making it one of the largest refineries globally. In other news, Mohsen Paknejad was appointed as the new oil minister for Iran, emphasizing the need to boost production amid limited fossil fuel reserves. Iran’s oil output increased by 20% in July, reaching 3.27 mb/d, however sanctions and technological challenges continue to hinder development and exports, with 70% of its gas reserves still trapped underground, according to Reuters. The Oct/Nov and Oct/Apr’25 Brent spreads are at $0.46/bbl and $2.10/bbl, respectively.
