New York, Jan 8, 2026, 06:15 EST — Premarket
Oil stocks fell in U.S. premarket trade on Thursday, led by Exxon Mobil down 2.1% and ConocoPhillips off 3.3%. Exxon slid after it said in a regulatory filing that lower crude prices could cut fourth-quarter upstream earnings by about $800 million to $1.2 billion. Chevron was down 0.8% and the Vanguard Energy ETF, a broad gauge of the sector, dipped about 1%.
Crude was firmer after two sessions of losses, but traders stayed wary of a supply glut and new uncertainty around Venezuelan oil flows. Brent rose 6 cents to $60.02 a barrel and U.S. WTI added 6 cents to $56.05, while Morgan Stanley analysts forecast a surplus of up to 3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2026. PVM analyst Tamas Varga said a build in U.S. refined-product inventories was offsetting the support from lower crude stocks.
U.S. government data on Wednesday showed commercial crude inventories fell about 3.8 million barrels to roughly 419.1 million, but gasoline stocks jumped about 7.7 million barrels and distillate inventories — diesel and heating oil — rose about 5.6 million. Big fuel builds can pressure crude by hinting demand is soft at the pump and in industry even when crude stocks tighten.
Shale names also slipped as executives leaned into a “lower-for-longer” message. EOG Resources was down 2.3% after its finance chief Ann Janssen said oversupply and the prospect of higher Venezuelan production are pushing oil prices down, a trend she expects to last “for several more quarters.” Janssen, speaking at a Goldman Sachs energy conference, said the company expects to spend about $6.5 billion in capital investments in 2026. Reuters
Chevron is in talks with the U.S. government to expand its Venezuela license so it can lift crude exports to its own refineries and sell to other buyers, four sources close to the negotiations said. Restrictions added in July cut the volume of Venezuelan crude Chevron exports to the U.S. to about 100,000 bpd in December from 250,000 bpd earlier in the year, the report said. A U.S. Treasury spokesperson said the department was “fully committed” to supporting President Donald Trump’s efforts, while PDVSA called the talks “strictly commercial” and “beneficial for both parties.” Reuters
The sector was also trading against a softer backdrop, with U.S. stock index futures down around 0.2% to 0.3% before the bell as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday’s U.S. jobs report. Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies, said “a move towards more government intervention would create uncertainty and add to some risk premium in the markets.” Reuters
Still, the read-through for energy earnings is not one-way. If crude holds near $60 and refiners keep capturing stronger margins, producers can cushion the hit from weaker prices; a deeper demand slowdown, or faster Venezuelan barrels returning, would pull that floor away.
Traders next get another read on U.S. supply when the EIA publishes its next weekly petroleum status report on Jan. 14, and investors will soon shift to earnings calls from the majors, with Exxon and Chevron both scheduled to report on Jan. 30. Before that, the market’s immediate test is Friday’s Employment Situation report for December, due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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