The May’25 Brent futures contract started the week strong, increasing from an overnight low of $71.80/bbl at 0330 GMT up to $72.60/bbl at 1040 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices have seen sustained bullish sentiment as the markets weigh up the impact of fresh US sanctions on entities involved in the Iranian oil trade. In the news today, US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at making progress toward ending conflict in Ukraine, as per Reuters. Before securing a wider agreement, Washington is looking to negotiate a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea to allow free flow of shipping in the region. In other news, Sinopec reported a 16.8% decline in 2024 net profit compared to a drop of 9.9% in 2023, citing lower crude oil prices and the increased development of the EV industry. Sinopec expects crude oil production in 2025 to be 280mb, or around 767kb/d. Finally, Iraq is in talks with several companies to secure two floating storage regasification units by early June in an attempt to address power shortages, according to Bloomberg. After the US decided in early March to not renew a waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran, this has left Iraq in need of more gas, with imports covering around 50% of the country’s demand during peak time, the Iraqi oil minister stated on Sunday. At the time of writing, the May/June’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.56/bbl and $2.78/bbl, respectively.
