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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent posts gains
Ice Brent crude futures rose in early Asian trading as the military conflict in the Middle East expanded.
The Ice front-month December Brent contract was at $110.70/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.88/bl from its settlement on 21 October when it ended 3¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $98.53/bl, up by $1.38/bl from its settlement on 21 October when it ended 67¢/bl lower.
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted an attempted drone attack on a processing facility at the Shaybah oil field on 21 October, according to the ministry of energy. Operations were not affected, the ministry added.
Earlier this week the Yemen-based Houthi militant group said it successfully struck Shaybah and state-controlled Saudi Aramco's facilities at Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, but a source told Argus the sites were not damaged.
Iran has not abandoned the diplomatic route to ending the war with the US, its foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Writing in the Financial Times, Araghchi said Tehran has "no trust whatsoever" in the US, but said it would pursue peace through talks "even when hope of success is scant".
The US and Iran are not talking directly, instead using Pakistan and Qatar as intermediaries.
The US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on 21 October announced sanctions against two shipping companies based in Singapore and the UAE, a Panamanian-Greek ship operator and nine tankers associated with them over their alleged involvement in transporting Iranian crude and other cargoes.
OFAC also gave Russia's Lukoil additional time to negotiate the sale of its international assets, extending the deadline until 21 November.
Since late last year OFAC has been issuing monthly extensions for the deadline to spin off Lukoil International, an Austria-registered subsidiary that holds the parent company's assets outside of Russia. The Treasury imposed sanctions on Lukoil in November 2025, forcing the company to try to spin off Lukoil International.
The OFAC licence allows negotiations with Lukoil over a potential sale, but any deal would require a separate authorisation. OFAC will authorise the sale only if the potential buyer pledges to cut all ties with Lukoil, holds back money owed from the sale until sanctions are lifted and makes no future windfall payments.
Ice Brent crude futures rose in early Asian trading as the military conflict in the Middle East expanded.
The Ice front-month December Brent contract was at $110.70/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.88/bl from its settlement on 21 October when it ended 3¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $98.53/bl, up by $1.38/bl from its settlement on 21 October when it ended 67¢/bl lower.
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted an attempted drone attack on a processing facility at the Shaybah oil field on 21 October, according to the ministry of energy. Operations were not affected, the ministry added.
Earlier this week the Yemen-based Houthi militant group said it successfully struck Shaybah and state-controlled Saudi Aramco's facilities at Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, but a source told Argus the sites were not damaged.
Iran has not abandoned the diplomatic route to ending the war with the US, its foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Writing in the Financial Times, Araghchi said Tehran has "no trust whatsoever" in the US, but said it would pursue peace through talks "even when hope of success is scant".
The US and Iran are not talking directly, instead using Pakistan and Qatar as intermediaries.
The US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), on 21 October announced sanctions against two shipping companies based in Singapore and the UAE, a Panamanian-Greek ship operator and nine tankers associated with them over their alleged involvement in transporting Iranian crude and other cargoes.
OFAC also gave Russia's Lukoil additional time to negotiate the sale of its international assets, extending the deadline until 21 November.
Since late last year OFAC has been issuing monthly extensions for the deadline to spin off Lukoil International, an Austria-registered subsidiary that holds the parent company's assets outside of Russia. The Treasury imposed sanctions on Lukoil in November 2025, forcing the company to try to spin off Lukoil International.
The OFAC licence allows negotiations with Lukoil over a potential sale, but any deal would require a separate authorisation. OFAC will authorise the sale only if the potential buyer pledges to cut all ties with Lukoil, holds back money owed from the sale until sanctions are lifted and makes no future windfall payments.
By YouLiang Chay