The Apr’25 Brent futures contract softened slightly from $72.75/bbl at 0200 GMT to $72.50/bbl at around 0730 GMT before there was better support to $73.30/bbl at 1015 GMT (time of writing). President Trump announced he would revoke Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela, which Biden had granted over two years ago. This move halts Chevron’s exports of 240kb/d, a significant portion of Venezuela’s oil output. According to Reuters, Trump attributed his decision to the absence of electoral reforms in Venezuela and inadequate measures on migration. Chevron planned to increase exports from its Petropiar operation by 50% this year, reaching 143kb/d. Eni SpA’s Q4 profit fell 46% to €892 million due to lower oil prices, weak refining margins, and missing estimates. Despite 3% production growth, exploration earnings and refining performance lagged, with a €275 million loss. The company also announced a new Southeast Asia joint venture. Pemex’s crude oil exports fell 44% in January to 530kb/d, the lowest since 1990. This marks a sharp drop from last year’s 811kb/d. Exports to the Americas declined 36% to 321kb/d, as US refiners recently reportedly avoided Mexican crude due to high water content. Markets are also watching Trump’s Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy set to visit Washington to sign a rare earth minerals deal, contingent on successful negotiations and continued US aid. At the time of writing, the Apr/May’25 and Apr/Oct’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.52/bbl and $2.70/bbl, respectively.
