U.S.–Iran nuclear talks in Oman cooled oil markets, pushing Brent back to $67 and setting up volatility as vague outcomes leave sentiment hostage to headlines.
Friday, February 06, 2026
The start of US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman has had a placating effect on oil markets, with ICE Brent sliding back to $67 per barrel, set for a more than 5% weekly loss after a stellar string of gains in January. The complete vagueness of the meeting’s agenda and the lack of public commentary on the outcome thereof could amplify sudden price moves next week, paving the way for another of those meetings when President Trump’s posts could define further sentiment.
Brussels Eyes Service Ban on Russian Oil Exports. The European Union’s 20th sanctions package vis-à-vis Russia, set to be approved by February 24, is proposing a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil exports, alongside tighter bans on imports of metals, chemicals and critical minerals.
Alaska Is Prepared to Get Drilled. The US Bureau of Land Management has earmarked March 9 for the first lease sale in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve since 2019, offering almost 5.5 million acres of oil and gas leases across more than 600 tracts, triple the currently leased acreage in NPR-A.
Saudi Aramco Cuts Prices Again, Even if Unwillingly. Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) surprised its buyers by cutting Asian formula prices for March-loading cargoes by $0.30-0.40 per barrel, half the expected drop, putting Arab Light at parity with the Oman/Dubai average.
The Age of Electricity Begins, IEA Claims. The International Energy Agency stated that renewables and nuclear power will account for 50% of the world’s electricity generation by 2030, even as power demand growth is poised to accelerate from 2.8% over the past decade to 3.6% between now and 2030.
US Allows Diluent Sales to Venezuela. The US Treasury Department has issued a license that allows the sale of US diluents to Venezuela, opening the naphtha export market to companies beyond Chevron, with PDVSA currently importing around 50-60,000 b/day, mostly from the US and Russia.
Europe Has Never Imported This Much LNG. European LNG imports rose to a new monthly record in January as several relentless cold snaps ratcheted up regional demand, with last month’s incoming flows totalling 13.7 million tonnes – up 2% compared to the previous all-time high from December 2022.
Rio Tinto Calls Off Glencore Merger. Global mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) announced that it is no longer pursuing takeover negotiations with rival Glencore (LON:GLEN), unable to iron out differences over a $200 billion merger to garner the support of shareholders, the third failed attempt to do so.
Kuwait Eyes Rapid Americas Expansion. Having signed a pioneering deal in Brazil’s deepwater offshore this week by buying a 20% stake in the Orca project, Kuwait’s state-owned oil company continues its upstream offensive, stating that it is in talks with Devon Energy and EOG over a potential US shale entry.
EU Cracks Down on Chemical Dumping. Lending a helping hand to Europe’s ailing chemicals industry, the European Commission outlined provisional anti-dumping rates on Chinese, Saudi, and US petrochemical feedstocks, particularly solvents used in plastics and polymers such as 1,4-butanediol.
India Starts Buying Venezuelan Oil. India’s largest private refiner Reliance, has bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude from global commodity trader Vitol, at a discount that is reported to be closer to -$7 per barrel to ICE Brent, the first purchase of such barrels after Trump took over PDVSA’s exports.
Winter Storm Drains US Distillate Stocks. Winter Storm Fern has had a firmly bullish impact on US distillate stocks as the EIA reported a 5.55 Mln barrel stock draw in the week ending January 30, the largest one-week draw since February 2021, that sent inventories below the 5-year average.
Kazakhstan Loses Its Oil Investment Appeal. UK-based energy major Shell (LON:SHEL) has paused new investments in Kazakhstan after a series of legal proceedings from the Central Asian state raised the risks of committing more funds, with two ongoing arbitration cases totalling $16.5 billion in demands.
Japan Can’t Get Enough of Qatari LNG. Merely days after Japan’s JERA signed a 27-year LNG term deal with Qatar, trading house Mitsui (TYO:8031) is reportedly close to buying a stake in QatarEnergy’s 16 mtpa North Field South expansion to secure a dedicated supply of liquefied gas, starting from 2029.
By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com
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