- Oil futures were off their seven-year highs as traders weighed U.S. sanctions on Russia and Iran nuclear talks
- President Biden announced targeted sanctions on Russia, covering the nation’s sale of sovereign debt abroad and the country’s so-called “oligarchs.”
- Iran has come into more focus after the country’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday that it hopes to settle the remaining issues in the coming days
- The Biden administration has delayed issuing permits for new oil and gas drilling on federal land (Bloomberg)
- Some officials were confident the move would have a minimal short-term impact on domestic production in part because operators already have thousands of unused permits they can tap
- The Interior Department warned of delays in new drilling permits after a federal district judge blocked the Biden admin’s method for determining how its permit approvals affect climate change
- Iran is moving more oil onto ships in order to speed exports upon a successful nuclear deal (BBG)
- Oil on tankers has surged by 30 MMBbl since early December to 103 MMBblm, according to Kpler
- “Additional barrels will, of course, put downward pressure on prices,” said Carole Nakhle, CEO of consultants Crystol Energy