Oil prices rose during Friday's Asian trade as the prospect of the United States intercepting additional Venezuelan oil tankers intensified supply concerns, with prices remaining on course for a weekly decline amid optimism surrounding potential Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
By 3:30 pm AEDT (4:30 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up 40 cents, or 0.6%, at US$61.67 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 40 cents, or 0.7%, to US$58.00 per barrel.
For the week so far, Brent has declined 3.2% and WTI is down 3.4%.
Washington is preparing to intercept more ships carrying Venezuelan crude following the seizure of a tanker earlier this week, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The operation has heightened worries about supply disruptions as the United States steps up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
ANZ analysts noted: "The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned another six crude oil tankers and their related companies. It marks an escalation of tension between the two countries and threatens up to 560kb/d of crude oil exports."
Meanwhile, peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia remain in focus. A credible peace agreement would likely increase global crude supply by freeing up Russian barrels currently sidelined by Western sanctions.
Leaders from Britain, France and Germany held discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday regarding Washington’s latest efforts to advance peace talks, calling it a "critical moment" in the process.
However, tensions escalated on Thursday as Ukrainian drones struck a Lukoil-owned oil platform in the Caspian Sea for the first time, halting production, according to an official from Ukraine’s Security Service.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency raised its 2026 global oil demand growth forecast and trimmed its supply projections in its latest monthly report, pointing to a slightly narrower surplus next year.
The agency cited stronger global economic growth and reduced output from countries under sanctions.
In contrast, OPEC's World Oil Outlook, released on Thursday, indicated that global oil supply would closely match demand in 2026, diverging from forecasts by the IEA and others that anticipate a significant surplus.
