Trafigura to Discuss Venezuela With US

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 06, 2026 at 20:51  |  9:14  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Ben Luckock — Global Head of Oil, Trafigura

Summary

Ben Luckock of Trafigura discusses Venezuela's oil reopening with the US government, emphasizing the need for a legal framework and safe logistics before Trafigura commits. He sees no near-term boost to Venezuelan production and describes the global oil market as oversupplied, expecting low prices in the prompt and medium term. He also comments that Russian supply could return if the Ukraine war ends, Iran risk is unlikely to lift prices much, and stablecoin adoption in commodities will be slow.

  • Trafigura is in talks with the US about Venezuelan oil flows and investment framework.
  • Venezuela production is unlikely to rise meaningfully this year due to degraded infrastructure and a long multi-year timeline.
  • Long-term Venezuelan upstream could attract majors given huge reserves and relative ease of production.
  • Global oil market is oversupplied, with low prompt and medium-term prices expected.
  • Russia-Ukraine resolution could add Russian supply; Iran remains a bullish wildcard but not enough to lift prices.
  • Trafigura sees logistics as its immediate role in Venezuela; upstream support depends on legal framework.
  • Stablecoin/Tether adoption in commodities likely slow, while gold has rallied on central bank buying.
Ideas
Ben Luckock Global Head of Oil, Trafigura 4:07
Venezuela oil has long-term upside.
Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves and is relatively easy to produce with the right people, technology, equipment, and capital. If stability holds and a proper legal and financial framework is established, majors are likely to re-engage and production could eventually rise from around 1 million barrels per day toward 3 million barrels per day, but this is a multi-year process requiring tens to hundreds of billions of dollars and no additional barrels are likely this year.
Venezuela upstream oil sector MED
Ben Luckock Global Head of Oil, Trafigura 7:12
Oil prices stay low on oversupply.
The oil market is oversupplied with plenty of barrels available. Venezuela stability removes a major disruption risk and no extra Venezuelan barrels are likely this year, a Russia-Ukraine resolution could return more Russian energy supply, and even Iran risk is unlikely to drive prices significantly higher. Therefore he expects low oil prices in the prompt and medium term.
WTI HIGH
Up Next
4:14
Why XRP is the new cryptocurrency darling
CNBC · Jan 06
6:40
One Polymarket trader made $400,000 betting on Maduro's Capture
Bloomberg Markets · Jan 06
3:58
What Will Venezuela Look Like Under a New Leader?
Bloomberg Markets · Jan 06
15:35
Does Venezuela Really Hold $60B in Bitcoin?
CoinDesk · Jan 06
3:27
How Gemini is gaining ground on ChatGPT
CNBC · Jan 06

This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 06, 2026, features Ben Luckock discussing Venezuela upstream oil sector, WTI. 2 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Ben Luckock  · Tickers: Venezuela upstream oil sector, WTI