The May’25 Brent futures contract reversed this morning’s gains, falling from $73.55 around 1345 GMT down to $72.50/bbl at 1620 GMT, inching up to $72.85/bbl by 1755 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices have seen a downward correction this afternoon amid news of a Russia-Ukraine truce at sea and potentially some small profit-taking on recent Brent strength. In two separate White house statements, the US has now reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure “eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”, alongside an end to attacks on energy infrastructure. In return for the deal, the US would help restore access for Russian agricultural exports to the world market and reduce the cost of shipping insurance. However, no timeframe has been specified for the implementation of the agreement yet, nor any repercussions for violation of it. In other news, India’s largest explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) is looking to diversify its portfolio to shield its core business from volatile oil prices, as per Bloomberg. The New Delhi-based company seeks to book 3 million tons of regassification capacity annually on the country’s western coast. ONGC has a refining capacity of 1mb/d and plans to build its first refinery with a focus on oil-to-chemicals, the company’s director for strategy stated. Finally, Russian crude oil exports in the four weeks to 23 Mar increased to 3.45mb/d, the highest since the period to 20 Oct. Crude exports have been boosted by a new short-haul customer in the Mediterranean, according to Bloomberg. At the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.63/bbl and $3.07/bbl.
