Meanwhile, Kazakhstan aims to be a net fuel exporter: File Image/Pixabay

Whether or not the sentiments held any real weight in the geopolitical realm, Iran issuing positive statements about the latest nuclear talks with the U.S. triggered a near-2 percent plunge in oil prices on Tuesday.

Brent settled down $1.23, or 1.8 percent, at $67.42 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate settled down 56 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $62.33.

Tehran said it had reached a "general agreement" with Washington for a deal, and U.S. vice president J.D. Vance agreed that talks with Iran went well – but that the Islamic republic had not yet acknowledged the "red lines" issued by president Donald Trump.

Negotiators are scheduled to return to Geneva, Switzerland with a revised proposal in two weeks; meanwhile, saber rattling by both parties continued, with Iran announcing it would close part of the Strait of Hormuz for several hours to conduct military drills, and Trump dispatching a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East (as well as reportedly preparing contingency plans for a prolonged military operation should diplomacy collapse).

Writing in the Tastylive blog, analyst Thomas Westwater speculated on what would happen to the oil market if a deal was struck or if negotiations collapsed: "A bearish outcome would likely see prices fall back into the $55-60 range before fundamentals recapture the narrative…a bullish scenario could see prices return to the January highs, or beyond them, depending on what occurs if the talks fail."

Julian Peneda, market analyst at Forex.com, pointed out that with lower immediate supply risks, "concerns about oversupply have resurfaced…the absence of disruption allows previously agreed OPEC+ production increases to remain in effect.

"Furthermore, a potential agreement with Iran could ease economic sanctions that currently limit its exports, enabling greater participation in the global market" – meaning, the market could be flooded to the tune of 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd), which is Iran's production capacity.

In other oil news on Tuesday, media reported that Kazakhstan plans to commission a new refinery by 2033 to eliminate domestic fuel shortages and become a net fuel exporter.

Kaiyrkhan Tutkyshbayev, vice minister of energy for that country, said the new refinery (Kazakhstan's fourth), will have a processing capacity of 10 million tons of crude oil per year.