London, January 7, 2026, 10:20 GMT — Regular session
- BP shares fall about 3% as oil prices retreat on Venezuela supply outlook
- BP keeps buying back stock, purchasing about 3.0 million shares on Tuesday
- Traders eye fresh Venezuela headlines and BP’s Feb. 10 results date
BP shares fell 3.1% in early London trading, tracking a drop across European energy stocks after U.S. President Donald Trump flagged a deal to bring Venezuelan crude into the United States. Rival Shell slid 2.4%, and the European energy index fell 1.7%. 1
Oil prices weakened as investors weighed the prospect of extra barrels in a market already bracing for ample supply. Brent, the global crude benchmark, fell to $60.35 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped to $56.61; UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said Trump’s post “put downward pressure on crude prices.” Morgan Stanley analysts estimated the oil market could swing into a surplus of as much as 3 million barrels per day in the first half of 2026. 2
Trump said Venezuela would export up to $2 billion worth of crude to the United States, with an agreed volume of 30 million to 50 million barrels, a shift that could divert cargoes previously bound for China. Chevron currently controls Venezuelan oil flows to the United States under a U.S. authorization, Reuters reported. 3
BP, which uses oil-linked cash flow to fund dividends and buybacks, has continued repurchases under its existing programme. The company said it bought 3,019,322 shares on Jan. 6, paying a volume-weighted average price — a trade-size-weighted average — of about 437.5 pence across venues, and will hold the stock in treasury, meaning the shares carry no votes while held by the company. 4
On the analyst side, Evercore ISI downgraded BP to “In Line” from “Outperform” with a $38 price target, citing the stock’s recent outperformance and its higher sensitivity to commodity swings alongside “macro pressure” and a CEO transition. 5
In New York, BP’s U.S.-listed ADR fell 4.9% on Tuesday to $34.36, underperforming peers as trading volume ran well above its recent average, MarketWatch reported. Exxon Mobil fell 3.4% and Italy’s Eni dropped 3.6% on the day. 6
The risk for BP investors is that a sustained pullback in crude, or a larger-than-expected lift in Venezuelan flows, tightens cash generation and keeps scrutiny on capital returns. A reversal in geopolitics that threatens supply would push the other way, but the tape has been moving on headlines.
