Oil prices were little changed during Tuesday's Asian trading, as investors balanced rising geopolitical risks against mixed expectations for United States fuel inventories.
The market continues to digest a wave of developments involving Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, tightening rhetoric from Washington on Venezuela and broader concerns around global supply routes.
By 3:50 pm AEDT (5:50 am GMT) Brent crude futures inched up 5 cents or 0.1% to $63.22 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 9 cents or 0.2% to $59.42.
Both contracts rose more than 1% on Monday, with WTI nearing a two-week high.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients: “Crude oil prices rose after a terminal in the Black Sea was damaged. One of three moorings on a pipeline linking Kazakh oil fields to Russia’s Black Sea coast was damaged by a Ukrainian attack. Kazakhstan’s crude exports have averaged 1.6mb/d so far this year.”
On Monday, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium confirmed it had resumed shipments from one mooring point at its Black Sea terminal following the major Ukrainian drone attack on 29 November.
According to CNBC, Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing unnamed sources, reported that loadings had restarted via the single point mooring 1 (SPM 1), while SPM 2 remained damaged.
Diplomatic tensions also remain elevated. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s key priorities were safeguarding sovereignty and securing robust security guarantees, adding that territorial questions were still the most difficult issue in negotiations.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to brief the Kremlin on Tuesday.
In Washington, a senior U.S. official said President Donald Trump held discussions with top advisers on intensifying pressure on Venezuela.
Over the weekend, Trump declared that the airspace above and around Venezuela should be considered "closed in its entirety", offering no further explanation.
Escalation at sea also continued. Ukrainian naval drones struck two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea that were en route to a Russian port to load crude intended for export markets.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ on Sunday reaffirmed a modest output increase for December and announced a pause in additional increases during the first quarter of next year, citing mounting fears of an oversupplied market.
