News
The day at a glance · 3 min read
Mood · Cautious
+15
Sentiment, −100 to +100
XOM YTD Gain
30%+30%
XOM Q2 Free Cash Flow
$18.9B
XOM Q2 Buybacks
$5.1B
Key driverOil majors benefiting from elevated war premium pricing while regulatory headwinds emerge for utility data-center growth
Daily briefEnergy· Money365.Market AI ·

Oil Majors Rally on War Premium; Chevron Bets on Venezuela

ExxonMobil and Chevron reach new highs on elevated oil prices; utilities merger moves forward as Texas freezes data-center hookups

Oil & Gas Majors

Bullish

CVX All-Time High

$211.78

CVX YTD Gain

34%+34%

CVX Venezuela Investment

$7B

CVX Venezuela Target Production

600,000 bpd
XOMCVX
ExxonMobil ($XOM) has rallied 30% year-to-date and reached its all-time high in March, driven primarily by soaring oil prices and solid earnings performance. The company reported record upstream output in Q2, generating $18.9B in free cash flow and returning $5.1B through buybacks.
ExxonMobil ($XOM) is benefiting from its integrated model, growth in Guyana and the Permian, and global trading operations offsetting volume losses elsewhere. The company is also taking over operatorship of Papua LNG from TotalEnergies, which will sell a 9.1% interest to partners.
Chevron ($CVX) closed at an all-time high of $211.78 per share on September 2, capping a 34% gain since the beginning of 2026 supported by Middle East tensions and strong earnings. The company announced on September 2 that it will invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela over the next five years to double its oil production in the country to about 600,000 barrels per day, adding two adjacent areas in the Carabobo region located in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt to its portfolio.

Refining Sector

Bullish

VLO YTD Gain

123%+123%
VLOPSX
US refining stocks have posted exceptional gains in 2026, driven by an unusually sharp surge in global refining margins as ongoing disruptions have significantly reduced the world's refining capacity and tightened supplies of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
Valero Energy ($VLO) has posted year-to-date gains of over 123%, while Phillips 66 ($PSX) has also outperformed the broader oil refiners industry over the past year. Tight product markets and constrained refining capacity continue to support the sector's outlook, with discounted valuations attracting increased analyst attention.

Utilities & Power

Neutral
NEE
NextEra Energy ($NEE) and Dominion Energy shareholders overwhelmingly approved the companies' merger on September 3, clearing a major hurdle for the blockbuster transaction first announced in May. The combination is expected to create the world's largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization. However, Texas regulators have frozen data-center hookups, cutting application pipelines significantly and potentially undermining the investment case for utility infrastructure tied to AI power demand growth.

Renewables & Clean Energy

Neutral
FSLR
The solar sector is bifurcating into two distinct trades, with infrastructure names gaining as utility and electrification plays while hardware pure plays face pressure.
First Solar ($FSLR) is experiencing declines as part of the hardware segment underperformance, contrasting with infrastructure-focused companies benefiting from grid modernization trends. The divergence reflects broader shifts in market positioning as policy shocks and platform strategies separate winners from losers in the solar space.

Energy Services & Technology

Neutral

SLB Kelvion Acquisition

$3.4B

SLB Debt Assumed

$0.7B
SLB
SLB ($SLB) announced on August 31 that it will acquire Kelvion from Apollo Global and funds advised by Triton for around $3.4 billion in cash and the assumption of approximately $0.7 billion of debt. Kelvion specializes in thermal management and heat exchange technologies, with a strategic focus on serving data centers. The deal represents a significant diversification move for the oilfield services company into the AI data-center infrastructure boom.

OPEC & Geopolitics

Neutral
XOM
Iraq is targeting oil production of 8-10 million barrels per day within six years, potentially challenging Saudi Arabia as the Middle East's largest producer. The production expansion plans represent a significant shift in regional supply dynamics and could alter OPEC+ internal balancing considerations. Middle East tensions continue to support elevated pricing across the energy complex, with what analysts characterize as a war premium embedded in current crude valuations.

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