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%.
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. Reuters
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.
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.
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. TipRanks
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.
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.
