Overview
- Brent hovered near $61 a barrel and WTI near $57 as trading opened for 2026 after the benchmarks recorded their biggest annual declines since 2020.
- Key OPEC+ producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will confer by video on Jan. 4, with reporting indicating they are likely to stick with November’s decision to halt further supply hikes.
- New U.S. sanctions on companies and tankers tied to Venezuela, coupled with a blockade targeting sanctioned vessels, are tightening constraints on PDVSA’s export flows.
- Russia and Ukraine traded strikes over the New Year period that hit energy infrastructure, including reported drone attacks on Russian oil facilities and damage to a refinery.
- Oversupply remains the dominant backdrop, with the IEA projecting about a 3.8 million bpd surplus for 2026 and U.S. output at a record 13.87 million bpd in October; Russia also lodged a diplomatic request over U.S. pursuit of the tanker Bella 1.