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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent posts gains
Ice Brent crude futures traded higher in early Asian trading, paring some losses from the previous session when prices fell after US crude inventories rose.
The Ice front-month March Brent contract was $64.54/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 48¢/bl from its settlement on 22 January, when the contract ended $1.18/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month March crude contract was at $59.83/bl, up by 47¢/bl from its settlement on 22 January, when the contract ended $1.26/bl lower.
Oil prices rose even though US crude inventories increased by 3.6mn bl last week as refinery demand fell to an eight-week low, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on 22 January. Crude stocks in the week ended 16 January rose to 426mn bl, up from 422.4mn bl a week earlier. Inventories also were 14.4mn bl higher than a year earlier.
US crude production is forecast to plateau between 2027 and 2030 before starting to decline, according to the chief executive of shale operator Occidental Petroleum.
The oil industry could extract a further 50bn-70bn bl of incremental barrels by enhanced oil recovery with CO2 pulled in from techniques such as direct air capture, which is being pushed by Occidental, Vicki Hollub said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has not received any Russian crude at its 1.4mn b/d Jamnagar refinery since 20 December 2025, a company spokesperson told Argus.
Reliance has consistently said that the export-oriented section of the refinery — the special economic zone (SEZ) — has not received any Russian crude since November 2025. The company now says receipts of Russian crude at the other section — the domestic tariff area (DTA) — continued until 20 December 2025. It told Argus earlier in January that it did not expect any Russian crude arrivals this month.
The spokesperson declined to comment on whether Reliance expects further Russian crude beyond January, reiterating only that the company "will not be buying Russian crude for the SEZ refinery and will abide by all sanctions".
Elsewhere, Nigeria's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery is advancing its plans for a new 750,000 b/d crude distillation unit (CDU) and additional secondary units, after placing orders with 20-month lead times for equipment, executive director Devakumar Edwin told Argus.
The refinery is to undergo "a major expansion within three years, alongside new investments [in] LPG", chief executive David Bird said previously.
In addition to a second CDU, Dangote plans to increase the capacity of the existing CDU to 700,000 b/d from 650,000 b/d, the company said in 2025.
Ice Brent crude futures traded higher in early Asian trading, paring some losses from the previous session when prices fell after US crude inventories rose.
The Ice front-month March Brent contract was $64.54/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 48¢/bl from its settlement on 22 January, when the contract ended $1.18/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month March crude contract was at $59.83/bl, up by 47¢/bl from its settlement on 22 January, when the contract ended $1.26/bl lower.
Oil prices rose even though US crude inventories increased by 3.6mn bl last week as refinery demand fell to an eight-week low, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on 22 January. Crude stocks in the week ended 16 January rose to 426mn bl, up from 422.4mn bl a week earlier. Inventories also were 14.4mn bl higher than a year earlier.
US crude production is forecast to plateau between 2027 and 2030 before starting to decline, according to the chief executive of shale operator Occidental Petroleum.
The oil industry could extract a further 50bn-70bn bl of incremental barrels by enhanced oil recovery with CO2 pulled in from techniques such as direct air capture, which is being pushed by Occidental, Vicki Hollub said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has not received any Russian crude at its 1.4mn b/d Jamnagar refinery since 20 December 2025, a company spokesperson told Argus.
Reliance has consistently said that the export-oriented section of the refinery — the special economic zone (SEZ) — has not received any Russian crude since November 2025. The company now says receipts of Russian crude at the other section — the domestic tariff area (DTA) — continued until 20 December 2025. It told Argus earlier in January that it did not expect any Russian crude arrivals this month.
The spokesperson declined to comment on whether Reliance expects further Russian crude beyond January, reiterating only that the company "will not be buying Russian crude for the SEZ refinery and will abide by all sanctions".
Elsewhere, Nigeria's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery is advancing its plans for a new 750,000 b/d crude distillation unit (CDU) and additional secondary units, after placing orders with 20-month lead times for equipment, executive director Devakumar Edwin told Argus.
The refinery is to undergo "a major expansion within three years, alongside new investments [in] LPG", chief executive David Bird said previously.
In addition to a second CDU, Dangote plans to increase the capacity of the existing CDU to 700,000 b/d from 650,000 b/d, the company said in 2025.
By YouLiang Chay