Exxon Mobil Corp

The Trump administration is preparing to weaken Biden-era methane controls on oil and gas operations, with the Environmental Protection Agency targeting requirements for marginal wells, large-leak detection and associated-gas flaring. Speaking Wednesday at the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association's annual meeting in Santa Fe, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal would address the burden on marginal wells and oil and gas operators in general, and the agency will also seek to rescind the Super Emitter Program, which lets certified third parties identify major methane releases and requires operators to investigate EPA notifications. EPA data show low-producing wells accounted for just 7% of U.S. oil and gas production in 2021 but roughly 60% of natural-gas production emissions and 40% of oil-production emissions. Reuters reported EPA estimates the planned rollback could save $45 billion annually, and the agency will also revisit rules governing associated gas, which producers often burn through flaring when they cannot capture or transport it. The Biden administration's 2023 methane rule sought to phase out routine flaring at new oil wells and tighten controls on new and existing sources, and EPA estimated that rule would prevent 58 million tons of methane emissions between 2024 and 2038, roughly an 80% reduction versus projected emissions without the standards. Publicly traded U.S. oil and gas producers that could see lower compliance costs include Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Diamondback Energy Inc. and Chord Energy Corp., all of which have significant U.S. onshore production footprints; the Sierra Club called the rollback foolish and short-sighted, while Zeldin said EPA is responding to producer concerns that the rules are unworkable.

Shares of Permian Resources, Granite Ridge Resources, ExxonMobil, and Viper Energy surged after a Gulf tanker attack slowed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while hurricane-driven production halts shut in Gulf of Mexico output, the Financial Times noted. The resulting supply squeeze lifted Brent crude above $104 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate to $92, according to CNBC. Permian Resources jumped 3.5%, Granite Ridge Resources rose 3.6%, ExxonMobil gained 3%, and Viper Energy climbed 3.9%. Viper Energy's shares have moved more than 5% only three times in the past year, and the stock is up 9.9% year to date but still trades 16.3% below its 52-week high of $50.95 from May 2026. The previous big move came 22 days ago, when the stock dropped 7.6% after the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision paused an oil rally, with Brent easing 1.1% to $107.61 a barrel, according to the Associated Press.

Helmerich & Payne said it expects direct margins across its North America Solutions, International Solutions and Offshore Solutions businesses to come in at or near the high end of previously issued fiscal fourth-quarter guidance, with International Solutions direct margins of around $45 million near the upper end of the prior $25-$45 million range. North America Solutions average rig count is expected near the high end of its guided range, while International Solutions and Offshore Solutions are each expected near the midpoint of their ranges for average rig count and management contracts, and other financial guidance items from the Aug. 5 earnings release remain unchanged. Management expects overall direct margins in fiscal 2027 to be stronger than in fiscal 2026, with robust North America activity and stronger Latin America activity partly offsetting near-term reductions in the Middle East, and reiterated its commitment to reducing leverage to approximately 1x net debt to adjusted EBITDA by calendar year-end 2027 while maintaining the base dividend. Separately, Helmerich & Payne announced that ExxonMobil plans to add seven more FlexRobotics systems over the next 12 months after the initial deployment of two systems on HP rigs, bringing the total number of FlexRobotics systems operating for ExxonMobil to nine. The company said the update was provided on Oct. 7.

Helmerich & Payne management said fiscal Q4 segment margins will land at or near the high end of guidance and announced a larger FlexRobotics deployment with ExxonMobil. The stock last closed at $39.64, with a 7 day share price return of 6.73%, a 90 day share price return of 21.04%, a 30 day share price return of negative 10.64%, a year to date share price return of 32.40% and a 1 year total shareholder return of 71.47%. The most followed narrative values Helmerich & Payne at $44.75, roughly 11% above the last close, a gap that hinges on converting technology and global rig deployments in Vaca Muerta, the Middle East and offshore into consistent direct margins and free cash flow. Risks to that story include drilling overcapacity pressuring dayrates and conflict-related disruptions hitting international margins.

ExxonMobil is looking to replicate Guyana's oil and gas boom off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, the company's head of global exploration John Ardill told the Financial Times in an interview Tuesday. Ardill said development in Trinidad is moving much faster than in Guyana, with Exxon negotiating a production-sharing agreement with the government within seven months, about half the usual time, and securing a vessel to begin acquiring seismic data for a prospect in just six months instead of the year typically needed. Trinidad's crude output peaked in the late 1970s and has fallen steadily since, and a revival could ease strain on the country's finances, which have been hit by shortages of liquefied natural gas feedstocks in recent years. Ardill said Exxon will decide where to drill its first well by mid-2027, and that if the well succeeds the company can deploy the Guyana development model along with AI tools developed there. Exxon is also looking to apply techniques used in the U.S. to other shale-rich areas, having brought delegations from Azerbaijan and Algeria to the Permian Basin, with Ardill describing Azerbaijan as an oil play and Algeria as a gas play, both huge and absolutely world-class.

Helmerich & Payne announced an expanded deployment of its FlexRobotics technology with ExxonMobil, adding seven new systems over the next 12 months to the two already running on H&P rigs, bringing the total number of systems operating to nine. The expansion builds on the successful deployment of the first two FlexRobotics systems and supports ExxonMobil's broader efforts to deploy advanced technologies across its entire drilling operations. FlexRobotics automates repetitive rig-floor activities, reducing personnel exposure to higher-risk tasks while improving consistency, precision and operational efficiency. H&P President and Chief Executive Officer Trey Adams said the expansion demonstrates the value automation can deliver in modern drilling operations, while ExxonMobil Senior Vice President of Unconventional Bart Cahir said the move builds on what the company learned from its initial deployments.

TotalEnergies SE has agreed to transfer operatorship of the 5.6 Mtpa Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea to ExxonMobil, selling a 9.1% interest that leaves it with a 20% stake plus a 1.5 Mtpa LNG offtake agreement. The French energy major also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Venezuelan government in mid-September, planning a return to the country after withdrawing from the Petrocedeno joint venture in 2021. TotalEnergies reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $196.38 billion, a 14.48% return on equity, a 12.79% operating margin and a 9.08% net margin, with operating cash flow of $33.04 billion and levered free cash flow of $13.53 billion against $62.92 billion in total debt. The stock closed at $84.40 on October 2, giving it a market capitalization of $186.2 billion and a 41.18% gain over the past 52 weeks. Hedge fund holdings rose to 34 in the second quarter of 2026 from 30 in the prior quarter, with Amundi the largest institutional investor at 206.12 million shares, or 8.25% of outstanding shares.

Exxon Mobil Holdings is expected to post earnings of $3.93 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +109%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate rising +19.8% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $12.4 indicates a year-over-year change of +77.4% and has moved +4.5% over the past month, while the next fiscal year's estimate of $12.08 reflects a -2.6% change from the prior year and a +5.7% revision over the last month. The consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $104.61 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +22.7%, with current and next fiscal year estimates of $410.03 billion and $407.47 billion representing +23.4% and -0.6% changes, respectively. Exxon reported revenues of $116.02 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of +42.3%, with EPS of $3.52 versus $1.64 a year ago, and the revenue figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $95.8 billion by a surprise of +21.1% while the EPS surprise was -4.35%. Based on the size of the recent consensus estimate change and three other earnings-related factors, Exxon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a Zacks Value Style Score of B, indicating it trades at a discount to its peers.

The U.S. Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with arguments in a case that could determine whether ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy can be held liable under state law for costs attributed to climate change. The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, accusing the oil producers of contributing to climate change and misleading the public about the risks of fossil fuels, and seeking compensation for infrastructure repairs, emergency management, environmental damage and public health effects. Exxon and Suncor appealed after the Colorado Supreme Court allowed the case to proceed, arguing that federal law including the Clean Air Act bars state and local governments from pursuing claims that effectively regulate greenhouse-gas emissions, a position backed by the Trump administration. The stakes extend well beyond Colorado, as nearly 60 state and local governments have filed similar lawsuits seeking billions of dollars from fossil-fuel producers, and a broad ruling for the companies could provide grounds for dismissing many of those cases. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority, though Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself, and a decision is expected by the end of June.

Technology and energy emerged as the two most consequential sector stories of the first nine months of 2026, with the S&P 500 gaining 11.4% and the Nasdaq Composite up 15.6% even as the 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5% and Brent crude gained about 40% in the third quarter. According to the Zacks Earnings Trend report dated Sept. 30, the tech sector is expected to post 42.1% earnings growth in the third quarter of 2026, with semiconductor earnings projected to surge 85.5% on 62.8% revenue growth; that growth would moderate to 29.6% excluding semiconductors and to 20.6% excluding NVIDIA, Micron and Alphabet. NVIDIA's fiscal second-quarter 2027 revenues rose 106% year over year, with Data Center revenues jumping 117%, while Micron reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 379.3% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.33%, with EPS of $33.42 topping the estimate by 5.73%. On the energy side, Middle East disruptions pushed Brent above $100 per barrel during September, and Zacks expects Energy earnings to surge 111.8% in the third quarter, the sector's most pronounced upgrade to its earnings outlook since the quarter began. Chevron reported $12 billion in second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings, its highest quarterly profit in six years, with upstream earnings rising 200% to $8.2 billion and U.S. production reaching a record nearly 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, while Exxon Mobil reported $14.7 billion in second-quarter adjusted earnings, $23.6 billion in operating cash flow and $17.2 billion in free cash flow.

Chevron and ExxonMobil have each signed separate agreements with Petrovietnam and its refining subsidiary covering potential crude and energy supply to Vietnam. Petrovietnam and Chevron signed a framework cooperation agreement covering potential cooperation in crude oil, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and refinery feedstock, and BSR separately stated it had signed crude oil supply agreements with Chevron. Separately, Petrovietnam Refining and Petrochemical Corporation, known as BSR, signed a crude oil supply framework agreement with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific for the Dung Quat Refinery in central Vietnam, expected to help secure a minimum crude oil supply of 2 million barrels per year for the refinery. In 2025, Dung Quat Refinery imported approximately 8.28 million metric tons of crude oil, with imported crude accounting for about 31% of total feedstock, and for 2026 BSR expects imported crude to represent approximately 15% of its feedstock. Since the beginning of 2026, the refinery has tested three additional crude types, bringing its total processing capability to 40 grades, including 12 domestic and 28 imported grades, and it can process Nigeria's Erha crude at a maximum blending ratio of approximately 45% by volume. The financial value and detailed delivery schedule of the ExxonMobil agreement have not been disclosed, and the agreements do not yet provide enough information to assess their direct financial impact on Chevron or ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil has selected SLB's OneSubsea joint venture to supply subsea production systems for the first phase of its giant Rovuma LNG development in Mozambique, advancing one of Africa's largest planned energy projects toward a final investment decision. The contract covers subsea trees, manifolds, umbilicals and control systems, along with engineering, procurement, manufacturing and installation services, and OneSubsea plans to set up a service base in Mozambique to support local training, employment and regional supply chains. The award follows roughly $1.1 billion in pre-investment contracts ExxonMobil and its Area 4 partners granted in August for long-lead equipment and early construction, and the earlier selection this month of a Saipem-Jan De Nul consortium for upstream engineering, procurement, construction and installation work. The offshore development is expected to initially involve 18 subsea wells and an extensive network of pipelines and manifolds. Rovuma LNG's planned onshore facilities would consist of 12 liquefaction modules producing a combined 18.6 million tonnes of LNG annually, and ExxonMobil has said the project could ultimately support more than 40 million tonnes per year of LNG capacity.

Energy stocks rose in pre-market trading after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sending crude oil prices sharply higher. International benchmark Brent crude climbed more than 3% to top $107 a barrel, according to Reuters, extending supply concerns across a chokepoint that historically handles a fifth of global petroleum shipments. Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund traded higher in pre-market indications, while refiners Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66 advanced overnight alongside rising diesel futures. Among individual movers, U.S. shale exploration and production company Crescent Energy jumped 2.6%, and mixed or offshore upstream exploration and production company Kosmos Energy jumped 2.8%. Sustained crude above $100 expands cash-flow projections for upstream producers, according to Bloomberg, but refiners face headwinds after Trump said the administration is considering a ban on diesel exports to lower domestic fuel costs, which could force refinery run cuts, according to Reuters.

TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman identified leading integrated oil companies positioned for strong third-quarter results, with TotalEnergies topping the list as excess cash generation builds across the sector. The analyst noted that integrated oil companies are directing excess cash toward balance sheets rather than raising distributions, signaling elevated macro uncertainty following Middle East conflict developments. TD Cowen estimates the peer group will generate $100 billion in excess cash from third-quarter 2026 through fourth-quarter 2027 at strip prices above forecast distributions and target debt metrics. The firm's earnings estimates stand roughly 20% above third-quarter consensus for both earnings per share and free cash flow, reflecting a rising commodity environment through the quarter that consensus has yet to fully capture. TotalEnergies remains TD Cowen's top pick, with performance expected to benefit from its September 28 Investor Day, and the analyst incorporated $0.35 per share trading outperformance for the company while expecting roughly equal free cash flow beats. Equinor is favored into earnings given strong gas prices and a lag on cash tax payments, with the company expected to beat consensus earnings per share by the widest margin, while ExxonMobil could see investors rotate back from Chevron, for which TD Cowen includes a $1.50 per share timing headwind.

TotalEnergies SE announced on September 7, 2026 that its 5.6 Mtpa Papua LNG project has reached critical commercial and contractual milestones toward a Final Investment Decision, including completion of the EPC tendering process and a joint marketing venture with Kumul Petroleum to commercialize 2.4 Mtpa. Operatorship of the project is transferring to ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation, operator of the neighboring PNG LNG project, to maximize operational synergies. As part of the transition, TotalEnergies will sell a 9.1% interest to existing partners, retaining a 20% stake alongside a 1.5 Mtpa LNG offtake agreement. For TotalEnergies, the farm-down and transfer of operatorship lower capital expenditure requirements while preserving long-term, high-margin LNG volumes aimed at fast-growing Asian markets. For ExxonMobil, integrating Papua LNG with its established PNG LNG infrastructure captures substantial operational synergies and scales low-cost upstream production near demand centers.

ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation completed a US$185.883 million fixed-income offering of senior unsecured floating rate notes due September 25, 2076, featuring attached guarantees and callable, variable-coupon terms. The ultra-long-dated, floating-rate issuance adds a flexible funding source intended to match ExxonMobil's long-lived upstream and LNG growth ambitions with equally long-term capital. The company has raised its LNG sales target to 50 million tons by 2030, aiming for about 10% of the global market. ExxonMobil's narrative projects $373.7 billion in revenue and $45.7 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 1.2% yearly revenue growth and a $12.9 billion earnings increase from $32.8 billion. Some of the most optimistic analysts had already penciled in revenue near US$507 billion and earnings of about US$55 billion by 2029.

ExxonMobil returned $9.4 billion to shareholders in the second quarter of 2026, including $4.3 billion in dividends and $5.1 billion in share repurchases, while still directing substantial capital toward growth. The company generated $23.6 billion in cash flow from operations and $17.2 billion in free cash flow in the quarter, and declared a dividend of $1.03 per share for the third quarter of 2026. Cash capital expenditures totaled $13 billion during the first half of 2026 for advantaged assets and high-value products, and ExxonMobil remains on track with its 2030 plan targeting roughly $25 billion of earnings growth and $35 billion of cash flow growth from 2024 levels at constant prices and margins. In Guyana, the fifth floating production storage and offloading vessel remains on track to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2026 and is expected to add 250,000 barrels per day of production capacity. Net debt declined by more than $7 billion during the second quarter and net debt-to-capital improved to 11%.

Exxon Mobil Holdings is expected to post earnings of $3.78 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +101.1%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate up +3.2% over the last 30 days. The consensus earnings estimate of $11.93 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +70.7% and has changed +0.6% over the last 30 days, while the next fiscal year's consensus estimate of $11.78 indicates a change of -1.3% and has moved +3% over the past month. The consensus sales estimate of $104.88 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +23%, with $409.73 billion and $405.16 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicating changes of +23.3% and -1.1%, respectively. Exxon reported revenues of $116.02 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of +42.3%, with EPS of $3.52 versus $1.64 a year ago, a revenue surprise of +21.1% against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $95.8 billion and an EPS surprise of -4.35%. The recent change in the consensus estimate and three other earnings-estimate factors have resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Exxon, which is graded A on the Zacks Value Style Score.

ExxonMobil Holdings reported record oil output and revenue while keeping capital spending at lower levels, with management pointing to higher production from high-return assets such as the Permian Basin as a key driver. The company said technology and efficiency gains allowed it to sustain operations despite geopolitical risks affecting Middle East supply routes. ExxonMobil is one of the largest US-based oil and gas producers, with operations spanning crude and natural gas fields in the United States, Canada, and other international regions. The update tests whether ExxonMobil can keep squeezing more barrels and dollars out of Guyana, the Permian and its Energy Products segment without loosening its spending rules, while a tighter capital budget that still leans on hydrocarbons outside the Middle East sharpens the risk of slower diversification into low carbon projects compared with peers like Shell or Chevron.

ExxonMobil said it believes the next wave of large oil and natural gas discoveries in South America's northern equatorial margin will occur in Brazil, following the giant success in Guyana and, to a lesser extent, Suriname. "The next chapter is going to be written in Brazil, and we want to be a part of it," Exxon senior VP of deepwater Hunter Farris said at the ROG.e 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, pointing to the company's achievements in Guyana. Exxon once operated key assets in Brazil's pre-salt areas without making a commercial discovery, but in June 2025 it partnered with Petrobras to acquire exploration rights for 10 deepwater blocks in the Foz do Amazonas basin. Petrobras expects to begin a closely watched appraisal program in the Foz do Amazonas early next year to start work on three new wells, after recently identifying the presence of oil and gas in the Morpho exploration well and receiving authorization from Brazil's Ibama environmental agency to start drilling. "Morpho was indeed a positive response, something we waited for over a decade, but we will need all three wells to make a correct assessment," Petrobras exploration and production director Sylvia Anjos told the conference.

ExxonMobil has raised its annual liquefied natural gas sales target to 50 million tons by 2030, doubling its current production volume and up from its previous goal of 40 million tons per year. Global LNG sales totaled 422 million tons in 2025, according to Shell, implying Exxon currently holds about a 6% share of the market; the new target would give it roughly 10% of the market by 2030, based on Exxon's view that global LNG demand will reach 500 million tons by then. Exxon's portfolio includes Golden Pass LNG in the U.S., PNG LNG and Papua LNG in Papua New Guinea, Coral South Floating LNG in Mozambique, Gorgan LNG in Australia, and North Field East in Qatar. The business has faced headwinds this year: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has affected LNG flows from Qatar, and two of Exxon's minority-owned LNG trains in Qatar were damaged by Iranian attacks and will be out of commission for a few years for repairs, though production began at the Golden Pass facility with QatarEnergy earlier this year. Because Exxon lifted the target without announcing any new projects, it may accelerate an existing project, expand other facilities, or acquire additional LNG capacity, and the company has not yet detailed how it will reach the goal, which would support its targets of $25 billion in earnings growth and $35 billion in cash flow growth by 2030.

Chevron and ExxonMobil both used the Gastech conference in Bangkok to announce expanded liquefied natural gas goals, betting that long-term global demand growth will continue despite supply disruptions. Chevron's President of Global Gas, Freeman Shaheen, told Reuters the company is eyeing expansion on four continents — Argentina, the eastern Mediterranean, Africa, and Australia — and will have approximately 20 million metric tons of LNG supply capacity, split between 16 million tons of net production from its own projects and 4 million tons contracted from the US Gulf Coast, a deal that began ramping up in February. ExxonMobil's senior vice president for LNG, Peter Clarke, told Bloomberg the company is raising its 2030 LNG sales forecast to approximately 50 million tons per year, up from a previous aim of 40 million tons, a larger figure reflecting its existing footprint including the Golden Pass export terminal in Texas and projects in Papua New Guinea and Mozambique. The two companies are already partners in Australia, where Chevron operates the Gorgon LNG project with a 47.3% stake and ExxonMobil owns 25%, even as they compete for customers and growth opportunities elsewhere. Neither announcement included a specific capital figure or project-level commitment, so both should be read as strategic direction rather than verified spending plans, with the real test being which projects convert from stated ambition to sanctioned, funded developments over the next few quarters.

Global emissions from fossil fuels are set to fall by roughly 0.5% this year, which would be the first annual decline since the pandemic year of 2020, according to Carbon Brief. The drop follows a demand shock set off when strikes on Iran began in late February and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz seized up, with Brent crude settling at $104.82 a barrel on Sept. 17 and the national average for a gallon of regular reaching $4.4386 the same day, according to AAA. The International Energy Agency now expects global oil consumption to shrink by 2.5 million barrels per day in 2026, a 2.4% drop from 2025 levels, a swing of roughly 3.4 million barrels a day from its January forecast of 930,000 barrels per day of growth. Expensive gas pushed power systems in Europe, Japan, Korea and China back toward coal, and the resulting jump in coal emissions is more than offset by declines for oil and gas, with global coal demand now set to rise 1.2% this year to a record 8.94 billion tonnes, according to the IEA. Fossil carbon dioxide emissions hit a record 38.1 billion tonnes in 2025, according to the Global Carbon Project, and the agency has called the loss of Gulf barrels the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

ExxonMobil expects the share of production from its advantaged assets, including the Permian Basin, Guyana and LNG, to keep growing, reaching roughly 65% of upstream production under its 2030 plan, up from 59% in the 2026 year-to-date period. The company had previously cautioned that its Middle East production would be affected if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a full quarter, but its longer-term production outlook remains bright, with West Texas Intermediate hovering close to the $100 per barrel mark amid continued shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. On refining, management said in its latest earnings call that it expects elevated refining margins to persist, as market tightness is projected to take time to normalize even after conflicts end, and ExxonMobil intends to maximize throughput across its refining system to capture stronger margins. Refining markets have tightened further since the start of the conflict in the Middle East due to damage to refining infrastructure there, attacks on Russian refining facilities and lower Chinese exports. Shares of ExxonMobil have gained 47.4% over the past year compared with the industry's growth of 49.3%, and the stock trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA of 9.11X, above the broader industry average of 5.87X.

ExxonMobil has entered preliminary talks with Venezuelan authorities about a potential re-entry into the country's oil sector, while also taking part in newly announced US Vietnam trade agreements that include energy cooperation with Vietnamese partners. Management is assessing Venezuela alongside wider Latin American options as it weighs long-term upstream opportunities in the region. The Venezuela discussions would add long-life upstream sources alongside Guyana and the Permian Basin, though they also sharpen exposure to regulatory and contract uncertainty in politically complex regions. The Vietnam agreements extend ExxonMobil's LNG and gas value chain into a growing Asian demand hub, with potential integration with projects such as Golden Pass LNG. The company operates a global oil and gas portfolio spanning exploration and production of crude and natural gas across the US, Canada, and a wide set of international basins.

ExxonMobil is nearing a deal to invest in Venezuelan oil fields in the Orinoco Belt, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and WTVB, returning to a country it exited after Hugo Chavez's government nationalized foreign oil assets in 2007. The fields under discussion carry geological estimates of more than 50 billion barrels of oil, a figure that describes oil in the reservoir rather than Exxon's booked reserves or production. Separately, Harold Hamm's Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela on September 16, 2026 covering the Ayacucho 2 Block in the Orinoco Belt, an area with an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil reserves, marking the Oklahoma independent's first move into the country. President Trump has said the United States secured a 65 billion barrel agreement with Venezuela, a claim that does not reconcile with either company's disclosures. Exxon shares traded at $162.01 as of 12:10 p.m. ET on September 17, 2026, down 0.80% on the session, but remain up 37.31% year to date and 45.33% over the past year.

ExxonMobil plans to invest roughly $20 billion in lower-emission projects between 2025 and 2030, and management expects newer business segments including carbon capture and storage, lithium, carbon materials, and Proxxima products to generate more than $1 billion in annual earnings by 2030, with roughly $13 billion in potential annual earnings by 2040 assuming supportive policies and sufficient market development. The company already holds contracts covering roughly 9 million metric tons of CO2 annually from industrial customers, and its first commercial carbon capture projects are now operating, which should give management enough commercial activity by 2027 to offer investors better visibility into what carbon capture can contribute financially. The bet is framed against a shifting oil demand picture: more than 20 million electric cars were sold globally in 2025, about one-quarter of all new-car sales, and the International Energy Agency expects EVs to approach 29% of global car sales in 2026, with the existing EV fleet displacing roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil demand per day in 2025 and potentially around 5 million barrels per day by 2030. ExxonMobil is also developing carbon-capture-enabled data center projects that would use natural gas to generate electricity while capturing the resulting emissions. The prediction is that 2027 is when ExxonMobil's low-carbon investments start showing up more clearly in guidance.

Occidental Petroleum posted the largest analyst estimate beat among the five diversified upstream exploration and production stocks tracked, reporting $8.33 billion in revenue, up 57.1% year on year and 15.3% above consensus. As a group, the five diversified upstream E&P stocks beat analysts' consensus revenue estimates by 9.7% in an exceptional second quarter, and their share prices have risen 15.6% on average since the results. ExxonMobil reported $116 billion in revenue, up 42.3% year on year and 6.8% above expectations, while Chevron, the weakest performer against estimates in the group, reported $70.06 billion, up 56.3% and 6.2% ahead of consensus. Devon Energy delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers at 67.4%, reaching $6.89 billion and topping expectations by 10.3%, and ConocoPhillips reported $19.52 billion, up 32.4% and 9.6% above estimates, the slowest growth in the group. Occidental Petroleum shares are up 17.9% since reporting and trade at $63.45, ExxonMobil is up 7.9% at $169.40, Chevron is up 13.1% at $217.43, Devon Energy is up 16.5% at $51.34, and ConocoPhillips is up 22.8% at $141.27.

A series of agreements between US and Vietnamese companies in sectors including energy, technology, aviation and finance are expected to be announced next week to coincide with the New York visit of Vietnam's top leader, Communist Party General Secretary and State President To Lam. The plans were revealed by officials and documents obtained by Reuters. An internal planning document lists 29 agreements that could be announced at a business conference in New York on the 23rd, which Lam will also attend. The contents of the document are subject to change, and it does not set out the specific details of the planned agreements. US energy companies Murphy Oil and Chevron are expected to announce agreements with Vietnamese state oil and gas company PetroVietnam, while ExxonMobil is expected to announce an agreement with PetroVietnam Refinery and Petrochemical, Vietnam's second-largest refinery. Vietjet, Vietnam's largest private airline, is expected to announce it will lease up to 22 aircraft from four leasing companies, comprising 17 Boeing 737s and five Airbus A321neos. SpaceX is also set to announce an agreement to provide its Starlink satellite internet service to 120 Vietjet aircraft. The planning document also includes an agreement between US-based Meta and Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, and one between US semiconductor giant Qualcomm and Vietnamese telecom company VNPT. Visa, Mastercard and Citibank are also expected to announce agreements with partners in Vietnam's domestic financial and hospitality services sectors.

Exxon Mobil Holdings (XOM) closed up 2.42% at $169.08, outperforming a session in which the S&P 500 fell 0.45%, the Dow lost 0.63% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.78%. The oil and natural gas company's stock has climbed 2.24% over the past month, beating the Oils-Energy sector's 2% gain and the S&P 500's 1.99% loss. For its upcoming earnings release, the company is expected to report an EPS of $3.78, a 101.06% rise from the year-ago quarter, on revenue of $104.88 billion, up 22.96%. Full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $11.93 per share and revenue of $409.73 billion, representing changes of +70.67% and +23.32%, respectively, from the prior year. Exxon Mobil Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), a Forward P/E of 13.84 versus an industry average of 8.9, and a PEG ratio of 1.01 against an industry average of 0.68.

Chevron CEO has warned that a global fuel crisis is already here, as supply fears clash with ongoing demand. The warning from the leadership of Chevron, one of the world's biggest integrated energy producers, comes as major oil producers flag that worldwide fuel markets have entered a tougher stretch. Tighter markets can lift crude prices, refining margins and cash generation for oil producers, a dynamic that could prove significant for Chevron and Exxon Mobil, both of which have spent years prioritizing capital discipline over output expansion at any cost. The flip side is that energy prices rising high enough to hurt consumer spending, raise transportation costs and push inflation higher could complicate interest rate decisions for central banks. For Chevron and Exxon stockholders, the next signal will be whether supply limitations keep crude and refined-product prices high, or whether sluggish economic activity starts to undermine demand.