Oil prices dip following US military operation in Venezuela 🇺🇸

Venezuela – Oil prices slipped on Monday after US forces detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, rattling global energy markets. Analysts said the potential return of Venezuelan crude could worsen existing oversupply, adding fresh pressure on prices already trending lower in recent months.

During early Asian trading, Brent crude edged down 0.21 percent to $60.62 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate fell 0.35 percent to $57.12, both recovering slightly from earlier session lows.

The move followed a surprise US military operation in Caracas late Saturday, where key military sites were struck and Maduro, along with his wife, was taken to New York to face federal narcotics-related charges.

US President Donald Trump has said that the United States will now “run” Venezuela and send US companies to fix its badly dilapidated oil infrastructure.

After years of under-investment and sanctions, Venezuela currently pumps around one million barrels per day, down from around 3.5 mb/d in 1999.

But analysts say that alongside other major questions about Venezuela’s future, substantially lifting its oil production will not be easy or quick.

“Any recovery in production would require substantial investment given the crumbling infrastructure resulting from years of mismanagement and underinvestment,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told AFP.

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Investing today also holds little appeal: oil prices are weighed down by a supply glut and fell in 2025 despite significant growth headwinds like Trump’s tariff war and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.