24 Dec Oil Market News; Prices up marginally due to continued rising global inventories
London, December 22, 2025, (Oilandgaspress) –Venezuela’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved a measure that criminalizes a broad range of activities that can hinder navigation and commerce in the South American country, such as the seizure of oil tankers.
The bill — introduced, debated and approved within two days — follows this month’s seizures by U.S. forces of two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil in international waters. Venezuela’s political opposition, including Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado, has expressed support for Trump’s Venezuela policy, including the seizure of tankers.
The bill, which now awaits Maduro’s signature Related News
Russia and China on Tuesday criticized the United States for its military and economic pressure on Venezuela, telling the UN Security Council it amounted to “cowboy behavior” and “intimidation.”
Venezuela, which requested the emergency council meeting with the backing of Moscow and Beijing, accused Washington of “the greatest extortion known in our history.” Related News
Chevron is the only foreign oil company left in Venezuela
The group currently extracts oil from four fields and offshore gas from another field, covering a total area of nearly 30,000 hectares (115 square miles). This is part of a partnership with the state-owned company PDVSA and its affiliates that employs around 3,000 people. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2023, Venezuelan territory contained around 303 billion barrels, or about 17 percent of the world’s reserves. Other foreign oil companies do not operate inside Venezuela because of the US embargo and a Venezuelan law that requires foreign firms to partner with PDVSA in majority state-owned ventures, a structure Chevron accepted when it was imposed. Related News
A UK government-backed Net Zero project has been abandoned after just five months due to there being no demand for the technology they’re wanted to push. Under the HyHaul scheme set up by Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, three hydrogen refuelling stations were to be set up along the M4 – supplying a fleet of 30 lorries delivering to factories and stores. The British tax payer has been robbed of £14 Million for this latest scheme failure..It collapsed in late 2025, just months after launch, because trucking firms lacked interest, highlighting growing challenges in hydrogen transport and broader net-zero investment amid fading hype, as seen with other shelved projects like BP’s H2Teesside. The Government has also abandoned its hydrogen towns scheme under which whole communities would have seen natural gas blended with or replaced by hydrogen. Related News
The Board of Aquila European Renewables plc announces that Patricia Rodrigues Ph.D., Non-Executive Director, has resigned from the Board with effect from 31 December 2025. This resignation is part of the Company’s planned reduction in size of the Board to reflect the Company’s wind-down strategy.
The Board would like to thank Patricia for her valued contribution to the Company since its IPO and for her commitment during her tenure as a Director. Related News
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Group Chief Executive Officer , Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari has reaffirmed the Company’s commitment to peace, dialogue, and responsible energy development in Ogoniland, describing the Federal Government’s renewed engagement as a demonstration of hope and a new beginning built on partnership and understanding. He disclosed this while speaking during a Federal Government delegation’s visit to Ogoniland, in Rivers State, on Monday.
“This visit is a demonstration of hope. It affirms the commitment of the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to peace, dialogue, and rebuilding trust. For NNPC Limited, it marks a new beginning—one grounded in partnership, mutual respect, and shared responsibility,” Ojulari stated.
The GCEO emphasized that recognising the past is essential to building a different future. Related News
Trump’s assault on executive orders issued by former President Joe Biden continues. His recent decision is to reinstate drilling rigs in roughly 625 million acres of coastal waters. The shift would not immediately trigger new offshore lease sales, and environmental groups have vowed to challenge it in federal court. Oil companies, meanwhile, have shown little interest in developing many of the areas Trump moved to reopen for leasing. It could take years—if it happens at all—for Trump’s move to result in new oil and gas development, and it remains unclear whether it will survive legal challenges. Nevertheless, the effort underscores the new president’s commitment to a frequent campaign pledge: unlocking more of America’s vast stores of energy.. Related News
Oil products stockpiles at Fujairah in the UAE rose 0.9% in the week ended Dec. 22, with gains in gasoline and other light distillates more than making up for declines in heavy and middle distillates, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published Dec. 24. The total climbed to 20.327 million barrels from a six-week low a week earlier. Inventories are up 31% since the end of 2024, heading for the first annual gain in three years, according to FOIZ data compiled by S&P Global Energy since 2017. Light distillates, including gasoline and naphtha, increased 8.5% to a six-week high of 7.473 million barrels. Middle distillates, such as jet fuel and diesel, retreated 10% over the week to a two-month low of 2.309 million barrels, showed the data. Read More
| Crude Oil (WTI) Oilprice | USD/bbl | $58.65 | Up |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $62.59 | Up |
| Bonny Light 24/12/25 CBN | USD/bbl | $63.86 | Up |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $62.11 | Up |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $4.48 | Up |
| Murban | USD/bbl | $62.91 | Down |
| OPEC basket 22/12/25 OPEC | USD/bbl | $61.22 | Up |
| At press time December 24, 2025 . |
Baker Hughes Rig Count: International +14 to 1,073, U.S. +3 to 545 Canada -67 to 118
U.S. Rig Count is up 3 from last week to 545 with oil rigs up 3 to 409, gas rigs unchanged at 127 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 9.
Canada Rig Count is down 67 from last week to 118, with oil rigs down 60 to 59, gas rigs down 7 to 59 and miscellaneous unchanged at 0.
International Rig Count is up 14 from last month to 1,073 with land rigs up 14 to 833, offshore unchanged at 226.
The Worldwide Rig Count for November was 1,812, up 12 from the 1,800 counted in October 2025, and down 95, from the 1,907 counted in November 2024.
| U.S.A | December 23, 2025 | 545 | +3 |
| Canada | December 23, 2025 | 118 | -67 |
| International | November 2025 | 1073 | +14 |
Baker Hughes |
More Energy, Oil & Gas Stories !!! �The squeaky wheel gets the oil�
OilandGasPress Energy Newsbites and Analysis Roundup | Compiled by: OGP Staff, Submit your Releases or contact us now!, victor@oilandgaspress.com
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