Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading after the US floated the possibility of relieving sanctions against Iran's oil exports.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $107.22/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by $1.43/bl from its settlement on 19 March when it ended $1.27/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $94.16/bl, lower by $1.98/bl from its settlement on 19 March when it ended 18¢/bl lower.
The US is considering easing sanctions to enable foreign buyers to purchase Iranian crude in floating storage, the latest in a series of steps US president Donald Trump's administration has taken to respond to the disruption in Mideast Gulf supply sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran.
"In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water," US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on 19 March. "It's about 140mn bl. So, depending on how you count it, that's 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China."
Traders in the US dirty petroleum products market have begun looking to book internationally flagged Aframax tankers after the US announced a 60-day waiver on Jones Act shipments. The Jones Act is a US cabotage law that requires ships operating in domestic trade to be US-owned, built and crewed.
Trump's approval on 18 March of the Jones Act waivers comes as transatlantic and short-haul Aframax demand and rates remain at or near all-time highs, the result of charterers moving to secure cargoes in the wake of disruptions to Mideast Gulf supplies.
The IEA said on 19 March that initial volumes of oil from member countries' emergency reserves have already started to be made available. It also detailed the split of crude and refined products to be made available by most countries, confirming that the releases will largely consist of crude.
The total volume to be made available has increased from initially announced 400mn bl to 426mn bl. Of this, 301mn bl will be crude and 125mn bl oil products. A breakdown of crude and products is not yet available for several countries, including France and the Netherlands.
In Australia, the federal government will extend its Fuel Security Services Payment (FSSP) programme, designed to keep its two remaining refineries open, while lowering the bar for the operators to access state subsidies.
The scheme will keep Ampol's 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery in Brisbane, Queensland and Viva Energy's 120,000 b/d Geelong facility operating into the next decade, energy minister Chris Bowen said on 20 March. The FSSP was supposed to run until 2027, but will now be extended to 30 June 2030.
Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading after the US floated the possibility of relieving sanctions against Iran's oil exports.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $107.22/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by $1.43/bl from its settlement on 19 March when it ended $1.27/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $94.16/bl, lower by $1.98/bl from its settlement on 19 March when it ended 18¢/bl lower.
The US is considering easing sanctions to enable foreign buyers to purchase Iranian crude in floating storage, the latest in a series of steps US president Donald Trump's administration has taken to respond to the disruption in Mideast Gulf supply sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran.
"In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water," US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on 19 March. "It's about 140mn bl. So, depending on how you count it, that's 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China."
Traders in the US dirty petroleum products market have begun looking to book internationally flagged Aframax tankers after the US announced a 60-day waiver on Jones Act shipments. The Jones Act is a US cabotage law that requires ships operating in domestic trade to be US-owned, built and crewed.
Trump's approval on 18 March of the Jones Act waivers comes as transatlantic and short-haul Aframax demand and rates remain at or near all-time highs, the result of charterers moving to secure cargoes in the wake of disruptions to Mideast Gulf supplies.
The IEA said on 19 March that initial volumes of oil from member countries' emergency reserves have already started to be made available. It also detailed the split of crude and refined products to be made available by most countries, confirming that the releases will largely consist of crude.
The total volume to be made available has increased from initially announced 400mn bl to 426mn bl. Of this, 301mn bl will be crude and 125mn bl oil products. A breakdown of crude and products is not yet available for several countries, including France and the Netherlands.
In Australia, the federal government will extend its Fuel Security Services Payment (FSSP) programme, designed to keep its two remaining refineries open, while lowering the bar for the operators to access state subsidies.
The scheme will keep Ampol's 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery in Brisbane, Queensland and Viva Energy's 120,000 b/d Geelong facility operating into the next decade, energy minister Chris Bowen said on 20 March. The FSSP was supposed to run until 2027, but will now be extended to 30 June 2030.
By YouLiang Chay