Following the sell-off on Monday afternoon, the Mar’25 Brent crude futures grinded higher overnight on Tuesday, rising from $76.50/bbl to $77.48/bbl by 06:30 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister met with his Iraqi and Libyan counterparts in Riyadh to discuss stabilising global energy markets, ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on 3 February. Sinopec plans to increase February crude throughput by 100-150kb/d to meet Chinese New Year travel demand and offset reduced runs by independent refiners, while preparing for major refinery maintenance (700kb/d) from mid-March to May. Petrobras’ CEO informed Brazil’s President Lula that the company plans to adjust diesel prices in the coming weeks, though the specific direction of the change remains unclear, according to local media reports. Protesters have forced Libya’s Ras Lanuf and Es Sider oil ports to halt loadings starting Tuesday, threatening significant disruptions to exports amid ongoing political and regional tensions in the country. Two oil tankers carrying Russian crude, Unity and Alfred, made U-turns near the Bay of Biscay due to mechanical issues and adverse weather, anchoring near Cherbourg, France, with no indication of links to recent U.S. sanctions. Finally, the Mar/Apr and Mar/Sep Brent spreads are at $0.91/bbl and $3.97/bbl respectively.
