Oil prices jumped 3% on Wednesday amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran and the abrupt end of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Geneva just two hours after they began, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-lose-ground-hopes-de-escalation-us-iran-tensions-2026-02-18/">reported</a>. Iran has temporarily blocked part of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil supply route - according to the official version, because of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exercises. On Thursday, February 19, Iran and Russia <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/oil-prices-fall-slightly-on-hopes-of-de-escalation-from-us-iran-talks-.html">will conduct</a> joint exercises in the Sea of Oman and the northern part of the Indian Ocean. While the market is pricing in the risk of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a new wave of escalation, India - one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil - is cutting its imports to their lowest levels since 2022 and turning back to Middle Eastern suppliers, Reuters sources <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-share-indias-january-oil-142727785.html">said</a>. Against the backdrop of these shifts, an uncomfortable question arises: how marketable the Urals price and its discount to Brent remains, if the largest buyer of this oil is linked to its seller. Oil industry expert Sergey Vakulenko <a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=25875782032030536&amp;id=100000762787435&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=gYshXuyY1DeOOMIo#">wrote a</a> great breakdown on his Facebook page, we publish it in full here

Who sets the Urals price in India - and what does Rosneft have to do with it?

Exxon Mobil Corporation

The conventional wisdom is that the goal of the U.S. campaign in Venezuela is oil. President Trump even named the amount of money he is going to get for Venezuelan raw materials. Sergey Vakulenko wondered whether the White House understands what exactly it is going to buy. We publish the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H5f5TxHdh/?mibextid=wwXIfr">post</a> without bills - this is Sergey Vakulenko's private opinion.

Sergey Vakulenko

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Who sets the Urals price in India - and what does Rosneft have to do with it?

$133 per barrel - Sergey Vakulenko's opinion on President Trump's Venezuelan project