The May’25 Brent crude came off to lows of $72.38/bbl on Friday afternoon before climbing to the $72.90/bbl region, seeing resistance at $73/bbl. In the news, Iraq and foreign oil firms issued conflicting statements on the resumption of Kurdish oil exports via Turkey, with Baghdad claiming an imminent restart while APIKUR firms, representing 60% of Kurdish production, refused to resume exports due to a lack of formal agreements, amid U.S. pressure on Iraq to allow the flow. India’s crude oil imports from Russia fell to their lowest level since January 2023 due to stringent U.S. sanctions disrupting supply chains, prompting Indian refiners to increase purchases from Iraq, Nigeria, Angola, Mexico, and Colombia to compensate for the shortfall. Trump’s plan to revoke Chevron’s license in Venezuela threatens to push the country’s oil sector back into murky dealings, slashing revenues by up to $3 billion as PDVSA pivots to discounted sales in Asia. Finally, the front (May/Jun) and 6-month (May/Nov) Brent futures spreads are at $0.51/bbl and $2.66/bbl respectively.
