Chevron Corp

Chevron has secured updated agreements in Venezuela, committing over US$7.0b to expand its Orinoco Belt footprint as global oil market buffers tighten and geopolitical risks keep crude prices elevated. The company's share price has climbed 21.85% over the past 90 days and 35.71% year to date, contributing to a 1-year total shareholder return of 38.45%. Chevron closed at $211.57, while the most followed narrative pegs fair value at $221.21 using a 7.24% discount rate, implying the stock is 4.4% undervalued. Record production growth, especially in the Permian and from the Hess acquisition in Guyana and the Bakken, positions Chevron to meet rising energy demand. Still, heavy dependence on long-lived oil projects and execution risk in places like Venezuela could quickly undermine the current undervaluation story.

ExxonMobil is close to signing a preliminary deal to explore investments in several Venezuelan oil fields, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, which would mark a return to the country nearly two decades after its exit. Exxon could sign a memorandum of understanding with state-run PDVSA as soon as this month to explore a deal to invest in a number of developed and undeveloped fields that collectively contain 50B barrels of oil, according to the report. The company reportedly is interested in retaking control of two giant fields it previously held in the Orinoco Belt, Petrovictoria and Petromonagas, before they were nationalized in the mid-2000s, and securing rights to two additional fields in the nearby Carabobo region. Venezuela has said it has ~300B barrels of oil reserves, which would make its reserves the largest in the world. Exxon rival Chevron signed a deal earlier this month to invest $7B in Venezuela over five years through its joint ventures there, aiming to double its production to 600K bbl/day, and Harold Hamm's Continental Resources signed a preliminary deal Wednesday to explore an undeveloped oil field in the state of Anzoátegui.

Chevron's 20-year take-or-pay power purchase agreement with Microsoft for 2.67 GW of behind-the-meter capacity in West Texas, branded Project Kilby, is designed to deliver mid-teens returns and long duration contracted cash flows independent of commodity price cycles, a structure management calls a repeatable model. The company reported Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $6.06 on revenue of $67.20 billion, up 51.4% year over year, with downstream earnings jumping to $4.87 billion from $737 million. Management hit $3 billion of structural cost cuts six months early and captured $1.5 billion of Hess synergies, 50% above the initial target, while debt fell $8.41 billion in the quarter alone. Chevron stock is up 46.85% year to date, brushing a 52-week high of $217.65, and trades at a trailing P/E of 20 versus ExxonMobil's 24. The bull case supports $238 within a year, while the bear path lands around $197.48.

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.

Billionaire shale pioneer Harold Hamm's Continental Resources Inc. reached a deal to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt, as the Trump administration pushes US companies to revive the nation's oil sector. The Oklahoma City-based company said the block covers about 126,000 acres and holds an estimated 30 billion barrels. Continental signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company and plans to have a long-term agreement in place within weeks. The agreement by Hamm, a significant donor to US President Donald Trump, adds to a slate of deals in recent weeks aimed at boosting Venezuela's crude production, including agreements announced by Chevron Corp., GE Vernova Inc. and Eni SpA alongside Wright and acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez at a signing ceremony in Caracas, as well as deals signed by Geopark Limited and privately held Aspect Holdings. Wright said the deals represent "tens of billions" worth of investments that marked a "transformation for Venezuela," though some analysts have questioned their durability given lingering concerns about contract sanctity in a nation with a history of nationalization.

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.

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.

Chevron outlined plans to expand its liquefied natural gas portfolio across Argentina, the East Mediterranean, Africa, and Australia, as Middle East supply disruptions affect global gas trade flows. Management is aiming to secure more diversified LNG volumes to support long term contracts with buyers in several international markets, spreading its gas exposure across multiple basins instead of relying heavily on the Middle East. The company operates a large integrated energy and chemicals platform, with LNG sitting alongside oil and refining activities that span multiple regions. Chevron currently holds 20 million metric tons per year of LNG capacity, and the expansion would add sanctioned capacity beyond that level. The key markers to watch over the next 12 to 24 months are progress on new LNG offtake agreements, sanctioned capacity additions beyond the current 20 million metric tons per year, and any disclosed capex or schedule revisions.

Costco has doubled the price of its full-synthetic motor oil and begun rationing purchases as crude oil pushes toward $100 a barrel. A 10-quart case that cost roughly $30 now runs $57.99, with purchases capped at two units per member per week. U.S. diesel crossed $6 a gallon for the first time this week, and global oil inventories have drawn down more than 500 million barrels since the U.S.-Iran conflict began. The pressure on Costco is more intense because its signature Kirkland oil carries GM's Dexos1 Gen 3 certification, which requires manufacturers to pay GM separately per product and per unit sold, eroding the DIY savings case. It is not just Costco: Mobil 1 is also capped, at five units, with six quarts running $44. The International Energy Agency cut its 2026 global oil supply forecast to 102 million barrels a day in August and now projects a third-quarter deficit of 1.8 million barrels a day, while Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said last week that the buffers that had cushioned prior price spikes are now exhausted.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said the emergency oil buffers that softened the market after the Iran conflict began have been largely depleted and cannot be repeated indefinitely, leaving crude vulnerable to fresh disruptions. He is backing that view with a Venezuela expansion aimed at more than doubling output there by early next decade, funded entirely with cash generated by Chevron's existing Venezuelan joint ventures. Output across the three joint ventures has already climbed from 40,000 to 250,000 barrels per day, and Wirth said Chevron is in negotiations to improve fiscal terms and enable more investment in Venezuela, with debt recovery expected to be complete by early 2027. Brent settled at $109.51 on September 9, 2026, well above the $61.35 close on December 31, 2025, while Chevron's Q2 adjusted EPS was $6.06 on revenue of $67.20 billion, up 51.43% year over year, with free cash flow of $18.10 billion and record worldwide production of 4,070 MBOED. CVX trades at $214.04, up 44.35% year to date, on a forward earnings multiple of 16x with a 3.28% dividend yield and a 39th consecutive annual dividend increase.

Chevron is expanding its global LNG ambitions as energy security returns to the center of investor attention. The company expects roughly 20 million metric tons per year of LNG supply capacity in 2026, including about 16 million tons from its own projects and another 4 million tons secured through U.S. Gulf Coast contracts. Management is mapping out potential LNG growth across Argentina, the Eastern Mediterranean, Australia and Africa, with India also emerging as a possible future market. Chevron is also seeing a shift in how customers buy gas, with some state-backed importers becoming more willing to work with portfolio suppliers instead of depending primarily on government-to-government arrangements. The shares traded at $214.275, about 32.2% above a GF Value estimate of $162.08, a premium that suggests the market is already pricing in strength from energy prices, cash generation and future LNG growth.

Chevron Australia expects liquefied natural gas prices to remain elevated over the next few months amid massive supply disruption from the Middle East. "I have a hard time seeing the prices come down" in the next six months or so, Balaji Krishnamurthy, Managing Director of Chevron Australia, told Bloomberg TV on Monday, adding that Australia's LNG is trading at a premium in Asia given its geographic proximity to the key demand center. Chevron operates two massive LNG projects in Australia: Gorgon, whose 15.6 million tons in capacity is the larger one and the largest in Australia as a whole, and Wheatstone, which can produce 8.9 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually; together the two account for about 5% of global LNG supply. The spot Asian LNG price for October delivery into northeast Asia jumped at the end of last week to the highest level since 2022 amid the re-escalation in the Middle East that further delayed any recovery of LNG flows out of the Strait of Hormuz. The average price for October delivery into northeast Asia reached $26.00 per million British thermal units on Friday, up from $25.70 per MMBtu at the end of the previous week, the highest spot LNG price in Asia since December 2022, as the lack of meaningful recovery in Middle Eastern flows and an intensified race between Asia and Europe for winter gas supply kept the market tight.

Microsoft has signed a twenty-year agreement with Chevron for a proposed 2.67-gigawatt natural gas power plant in West Texas, designed to supply dedicated off-grid electricity directly to a hyperscale data center in the Permian Basin. The project bypasses regional grid transmission queues to secure reliable power for continuous AI workloads, and Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation president Noelle Walsh said the deal helps ensure dedicated, large-scale power to support advanced compute. Chevron New Energies president Jeff Gustavson said the company is uniquely positioned to deliver power with certainty, speed and at a competitive cost, leveraging Permian natural gas. The arrangement drew praise from Jim Cramer on the September 3 episode of Mad Money, who called it the cleanest behind-the-meter power plan he has seen, while also crediting Microsoft CFO Amy Hood for expanded Azure disclosure and noting growing enterprise adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot. The bear case centers on heavy capital expenditures and long-term power commitments that add infrastructure and execution exposure, plus commodity price volatility and environmental regulatory pressure from fossil fuel generation. According to Insider Monkey's tracking of over 1,000 hedge funds, 273 funds held a stake in Microsoft in the latest quarter versus 282 previously, with Arrowstreet Capital becoming the largest common stock hedge fund shareholder after raising its position by 14% in Q2 to nearly 27.66 million shares, while 101 funds held Chevron versus 103 previously and Berkshire Hathaway held the most prominent position at nearly 84.4 million shares.

Chevron has become one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com, with shares returning +7.6% over the past month against a -2% change for the Zacks S&P 500 composite, while the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry gained 6.3%. For the current quarter, Chevron is expected to post earnings of $4.89 per share, a change of +164.3% from the year-ago quarter, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved +9.1% over the last 30 days. The consensus earnings estimate of $16.51 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +126.5% and has changed +4.1% over the last 30 days, while the next fiscal year's consensus estimate of $14.66 indicates a change of -11.2% and has changed +4.8% over the past month. The consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $55.07 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +10.7%, with current and next fiscal year estimates of $228.85 billion and $217.28 billion indicating +21.1% and -5.1% changes, respectively. Chevron reported revenues of $70.06 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of +56.3%, with EPS of $6.06 versus $1.77 a year ago, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a Zacks Value Style Score of B.

Chevron's subsidiary Energy Forge One signed a 20-year agreement with Microsoft in June to build a gas-fired power plant beside a data center campus outside Pecos, Texas, ramping up to roughly 2.67 gigawatts, with a final investment decision due by the end of this year and power flowing in 2028. The project addresses the Permian Basin's chronic gas glut: the EIA expects Permian gas production to average 29.2 Bcf/d this year, up 6% and a record for the region, while the Waha pricing hub traded negative on 118 of the first 131 trading days this year and is on pace to beat 2024's record for negative days. Enterprise Products Partners is expanding its Bahia NGL pipeline out of the Midland and Delaware basins, with ExxonMobil taking a 40% stake and contracts running into 2027, and East Daley Analytics figures LNG terminals and data centers together will pull more than 20 Bcf/d of new demand. RBC Capital Markets counts about 38 gigawatts of announced behind-the-meter gas capacity in Texas, more than any other state, with one build called GW Ranch targeting 7.5 gigawatts of on-site generation in West Texas by 2031. Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new data center approvals on Aug. 3, covering around 300 large projects in ERCOT's Batch Zero process, but the audit does not apply to projects that skip the grid connection, leaving the Chevron and Microsoft model free to proceed.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, is pushing for a significant increase in its production quota from OPEC+, seeking to have a new production baseline of 6 million barrels per day used as the basis for determining quotas in 2027, well above the current ceiling of 4.431 million barrels per day. Sources familiar with the matter say Iraq signaled in June that it might withdraw from the group if its production baseline is not adjusted upward, and Iraq's withdrawal would deal a major blow to the alliance, following the earlier exit of the United Arab Emirates. OPEC+ is having external consultants assess members' actual production capacity, with completion scheduled by the end of September, ahead of oil ministers' consideration for endorsement in late November. The outcome of this assessment is crucial for the balance of the global oil market, especially if exports from the Gulf fully recover, which could lead to an oversupply. Meanwhile, major oil companies such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil are negotiating a return to investment in Iraq. However, it remains uncertain whether OPEC+ will accept Iraq's proposed production baseline, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates Iraq's sustainable production capacity at only 4.9 million barrels per day, and actual production in August averaged just 2.98 million barrels per day, due to conflict with Iran affecting shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. oil major Chevron plans to more than double the number of oil drilling rigs it operates in Venezuela as part of a five-year plan to boost production there, the company's Chief Financial Officer Aymara Bonner said on Tuesday at a Barclays-hosted conference. Last week, Chevron announced plans to invest over $7 billion through its Venezuelan joint ventures to more than double crude output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. According to Bonner, after reaching 600,000 barrels per day, the joint ventures' production is expected to stabilize at 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day, and the abundant resource base could sustain that level for five to ten years.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery closed at $93.03 per barrel, up $1.55, or 1.7%, while Brent crude closed at $97.92 per barrel, up 92 cents, or 0.9%, hitting a six-week high. This follows a Houthi attack on four cities in southern Saudi Arabia, injuring more than 70 people and causing fires at oil infrastructure, raising the risk of a wider Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, the U.S. struck an Iranian oil tanker linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in retaliation for attacks on U.S. warships. The UK is preparing to sanction Israeli settlements in the West Bank by banning imports of goods from the area, expected to take effect in 6-9 months. The EU and Canada are moving forward with a new relationship covering trade and security to counterbalance the U.S. and China. Chevron plans to more than double its drilling rigs in Venezuela under a five-year plan, as its joint venture will invest over $7 billion to boost production to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031. The U.S. Treasury Secretary said the expansion of the bond buyback program aims to cool the market, while pushing for a plan to reduce the budget deficit through Congress by year-end. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran's airline and supporting companies, including Mahan Air, totaling 36 entities. China issued guidelines for managing AI disputes and accelerated patent approvals, while Chinese banks increased their holdings of government bonds to 16.4% of total assets in July, up from 11.5% five years ago. SoftBank is preparing to raise $10-20 billion through high-yield bonds to invest in AI, and Qualcomm revealed that Amazon will order AI chips worth up to $60 billion.

U.S. stock futures fell early Tuesday, with Dow futures down 0.8%, S&P 500 futures down 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 futures down 0.1%, as markets reopened after the Labor Day holiday amid U.S.-Iran tensions and U.S.-Canada trade disputes. Energy stocks rose in premarket trading after Iran warned it could target Gulf oil and gas infrastructure, with Exxon Mobil up 1.8%, Chevron up 1.7%, ConocoPhillips up 1.6%, Diamondback Energy and Marathon Petroleum each up 1.1%, and Valero Energy up 1.6%. Eaton shares gained more than 3% after UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $515 from $450, citing strong sales growth and expected margin improvement. Everpure rose 2.5% after being added to the S&P 500, replacing Builders FirstSource, while Shake Shack rose about 1% after RBC initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $89 price target. Old Dominion Freight Line climbed 1.3% after reporting revenue per day rose 12.4% in August compared with the same month last year.

The Trump administration has acquired a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), which holds 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields in Venezuela, giving the US control over 65 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, or about 20% of the estimated 303 billion barrels believed to exist. If the deal goes through, NABEP would become the world's second-largest oil company by reserves, behind Saudi Aramco and four times larger than ExxonMobil. The agreement follows the US government's ousting of former President Nicolás Maduro, with the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez granting the concessions to NABEP. The US Department of Defense received its stake through the Office of Strategic Capital at no cost, while the State Department has the right to purchase 20% of output at cost, and US agencies have first rights to buy the remaining 80% of production. They can also veto the appointment of board members. Analysts view this as an unprecedented state intervention that may face political and legal uncertainties. Meanwhile, Chevron has announced a $7 billion investment to more than double its production in Venezuela by 2031.

Chevron has signed a landmark deal to significantly expand its operations in Venezuela, positioning the oil giant to double its output over the next five years. CEO Mike Wirth told Bloomberg that patience was key, saying, "You have to hang in there until all the conditions come together: the technology, the economics, the markets, the politics." Chevron stayed in the country for over 100 years while rivals ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left after nationalization in 2007. The new agreement grants Chevron's joint ventures additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt and improved fiscal, commercial, and legal terms, supporting a plan to invest more than $7 billion over five years to boost production from 280,000 barrels per day to around 600,000 barrels per day. Chevron estimates its costs will be less than $20 a barrel, potentially driving strong earnings growth, though risks remain from difficult production conditions and political uncertainties.

Chevron is turning more than two decades of persistence in Venezuela into one of its most potentially lucrative oil projects, planning to invest over $7 billion in five years and more than double Venezuelan production to roughly 600,000 barrels per day, with total costs below $20 a barrel. With Brent crude trading near $95, the economics could make Venezuela an unusually powerful cash-flow engine for Chevron, which produced about 4.07 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q2. The breakthrough follows years of sanctions and instability that prompted rivals like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to leave, but CEO Mike Wirth says patience created an advantage. New agreements provide improved fiscal, commercial, and legal terms while expanding acreage in the Orinoco Belt, and joint ventures have already increased production 15% year to date. The company generated $15.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow in Q2 and returned $6.5 billion to shareholders, giving it financial capacity to fund the expansion, though the biggest risk is political rather than geological.

Piper Sandler has lifted its price target on Chevron to a Street-high $243 from $207, part of a broader round of estimate increases across its integrated oil and refiner coverage driven by stronger crude and refining margins. The firm kept its overweight rating on the stock. Analyst John Royall raised the third-quarter Brent forecast to $88 per barrel from $80, and the fourth-quarter forecast to $90, citing continued supply issues on the diesel side lasting well into next year. The changes pushed Piper Sandler's estimates about 12% and 27% ahead of Wall Street's 2026 third-quarter and 2027 EBITDA forecasts for the majors, and roughly 15% and 36% above consensus for the refiners. Piper Sandler also lifted price targets for BP to $46, MPC to $462, PSX to $264, SHEL to $100, TTE to $93, VLO to $435, and XOM to $185.

In Caracas, Venezuela's capital, on the 2nd, several international energy companies, including U.S. oil giant Chevron, U.S. power equipment firm GE Vernova, and Italian resources developer Eni, signed contracts to expand investment in the country's oil and power sectors. The signing ceremony was attended by Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Most of the contracts relate to project expansions that had been under negotiation with Venezuela's Ministry of Petroleum and state oil company PDVSA to transition energy contracts to new terms following a comprehensive oil reform approved in January. This also represents the latest effort by private companies that have operated in Venezuela for years to help rebuild the country's struggling oil industry. Venezuela's crude production currently stands at about 1.25 million barrels per day, well below the peak of about 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s. Many major oil companies have held back large-scale investment since the 2007 nationalization, and mismanagement and U.S. sanctions have stalled Venezuela's oil industry. Meanwhile, the United States is leading a total investment plan of $100 billion, and officials say it could double Venezuela's production in the coming years. At the signing ceremony, Wright said, "We are moving at 'Trump speed.' President Trump wants transformation as quickly as possible, not gradual improvement." Eni currently operates an offshore gas project with Spain's Repsol and a shallow-water oil project with PDVSA, but now plans to enter the Junin 5 heavy oil development area in the Orinoco Belt, investing about $1.5 billion, according to industry sources. Eni says its existing joint ventures with PDVSA will transition to 25-year production-sharing contracts. Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said, "What is needed is not signing contracts, but production itself." Junin 5 currently produces about 12,000 barrels per day. The company aims to raise total production from all its oil projects to 400,000 barrels per day by 2030. Chevron plans to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years, boosting its production in the country to about 600,000 barrels per day, roughly double current levels. Expanding its joint ventures with PDVSA is a key pillar of the strategy. Chevron's CEO, Mike Wirth, attended the signing ceremony alongside Eni's Descalzi. This is Wirth's first visit to Venezuela. Chevron has continued operations in the country even as other oil majors withdrew after asset seizures during the Chávez era. Meanwhile, GE Vernova signed a partnership contract in the power sector. Rodríguez emphasized the importance of this deal given the country's power shortages, where prolonged blackouts have affected daily life and industrial activity.

The Trump administration has announced a historic oil deal with Venezuela, partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners to lease oil fields containing 65 billion barrels of oil, but the $100 billion needed to ramp up production remains unfunded. The company currently produces 200,000 barrels a day and aims for a million barrels in the near term, a fivefold increase requiring dozens of new rigs. While the White House and the company express confidence, financing details are unclear, and Chevron separately announced $7 billion in new investment, which pales in comparison. President Trump claims the deal will lower gasoline prices faster than experts expect, but analysts note that refinery capacity is at 97% and Venezuelan oil fields will take years to develop, making his political timeline difficult to meet.

Italy's Eni has signed a 25-year contract with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, making Eni the exclusive operator of the giant Junín-5 heavy-oil field in the Orinoco Belt, which holds an estimated 35 billion barrels of certified oil in place but currently produces just 12,000 barrels per day. The agreement grants Eni technical, financial, and commercial management of the field, replacing the previous Petrojunín joint venture where PDVSA held 60% and Eni 40%, under Venezuela's reformed hydrocarbons law that allows greater autonomy for foreign operators. The signing occurred during U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright's visit to Caracas, amid a revival of foreign investment in Venezuela's oil industry, with Chevron separately announcing plans to invest $7 billion over five years and boost its Venezuelan output to 600,000 bpd by 2031. Eni originally aimed to develop Junín-5 to 240,000 bpd, a target never achieved, and the Financial Times reports Eni plans to invest around $1.5 billion annually as it ramps up the project. Eni, which has operated in Venezuela since 1998, also holds assets including the Perla offshore gas field with Repsol and a 26% stake in PetroSucre.

Chevron Corporation announced new agreements with Venezuela that grant it additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt and updated terms for its joint ventures, supporting plans to more than double production over five years. The agreements provide enhanced fiscal, commercial, and legal terms and assign Chevron additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where it already has an established position. These terms support joint venture plans to invest over $7 billion in the next five years and increase production to about 600,000 barrels per day, more than double 2026 output, with total costs below $20 per barrel. Under the agreements, the Petroindependencia joint venture, in which Chevron holds a 49% interest, has been assigned rights to develop the adjacent Carabobo-1 and Carabobo-2-South-A areas. This follows an April agreement that raised Chevron's working interest in Petroindependencia to 49% and granted rights to the Ayacucho 8 area. Chevron's three Venezuelan joint ventures have grown production by 15% year-to-date.

Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth discussed the company's plan to invest $7 billion in Venezuela through a series of joint venture partnerships, part of the Trump administration's push to revive the country's oil industry. Wirth spoke to Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall in Caracas.

Stock index futures were mixed on Wednesday after technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower in the previous session. Nvidia fell 0.25% in premarket trade as it advanced talks to acquire AI company Hugging Face in a transaction that may total about $14B, with an agreement valued at $12.9B possible as soon as this week, including a $1B retention package for employees. Chevron rose 0.13% after confirming it will expand operations in Venezuela, planning to spend more than $7B over five years to more than double production to about 600K barrels per day. Palo Alto Networks dropped 1.77% despite reporting fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.02, beating the $0.98 consensus, and revenue of $3.41B, up 34% year over year. Vertiv Holdings fell 0.58% after its subsidiary agreed to acquire UtilityInnovation Group for about $1.45B in cash plus up to $1.15B in earnouts, expanding its power and cooling portfolio.

Microsoft has entered a 20-year power purchase agreement with Chevron's subsidiary Energy Forge One LLC for a planned West Texas data-center project, signaling that securing electricity is becoming as strategic as securing chips. The Kilby development targets 2.67 gigawatts of generation, with initial power expected in 2028. The deal provides Microsoft a dedicated path to capacity in a grid-constrained market, while natural gas offers round-the-clock generation to support AI cluster reliability. For Chevron, the agreement opens a new outlet for its gas and a chance to move downstream into integrated power, though the project has not reached a final investment decision. Hedge-fund holder counts declined for both stocks, with Microsoft held by 273 funds in the second quarter, down from 282, and Chevron ownership slipping to 101 funds from 103. As of August 14, 15.7 million Chevron shares were sold short, only 0.80% of the float and 1.9 days of trading volume.

Chevron has confirmed it will expand its operations in Venezuela, days after President Donald Trump announced a deal to develop the nation's oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in profits. The company said it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, with joint venture plans to invest over $7 billion in the next five years, more than doubling production to about 600,000 barrels a day compared to 2026. CEO Mike Wirth expressed confidence in the country's resource potential, citing improved terms and additional acreage. The announcement follows a U.S. official's briefing that Chevron officials and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were expected to visit Venezuela to formally unveil the investment. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, has had a presence in Venezuela since 1923 and operates joint ventures in the Orinoco Oil Belt and Zulia State.

The U.S. government's agreement with Venezuela, touted by President Trump as "the biggest oil deal in world history," grants American access to 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan reserves through 100-year concessions across 17 oilfields, brokered with North American Blue Energy Partners. The deal, which includes a 25-year cooperation framework, aims to more than double U.S. oil reserves and lower gasoline prices, while Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, SLB, and Halliburton are positioned to benefit from an estimated $100 billion in infrastructure investment targeting 1.5 million barrels per day. For investors, energy ETFs like XLE, VDE, OIH, and IYE offer exposure to these beneficiaries, with year-to-date gains ranging from 42.2% to 50.7%.

Energy stocks led the market higher Monday as two major oil catalysts hit at once: the resumption of U.S.-Iran strikes sent oil prices up about 3%, lifting Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, and Occidental Petroleum, while President Trump announced a deal with Venezuela to control more than 65 billion barrels of its oil reserves. Chevron opened at $208.18, up 1.00% on the session and 36.13% year-to-date, after reporting $12.1 billion in Q2 earnings and cutting debt by over $8 billion. Exxon Mobil traded at $162.91, up 1.20%, despite disclosing $706 million in Q1 losses tied to Middle East disruptions. Halliburton added 1.53% to $36.74, while Occidental rose 0.76% to $59.55, with CEO Richard Jackson saying the company fully offset Middle East production losses through Permian and Gulf of America volumes. The Venezuela deal adds a long-horizon reserves story, but degraded infrastructure means years of investment before new supply reaches the market.

Oil prices climbed further and Asian shares were mixed Tuesday as renewed violence in the Iran war heightened uncertainty over the conflict's future. Brent crude gained 0.8% to $91.23 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude rose 1% to $86.62, following U.S. attacks on Iranian rocket launchers and Iran's missile response. The war has curtailed traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which once accounted for about 20% of the world's oil shipments, keeping prices high and fueling inflation. In Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9%, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2%. Shein shares fell as much as 10% on their Hong Kong debut before paring losses to 5% by midday. Wall Street closed lower Monday, with Edison International and PG&E plunging on wildfire legislation concerns, while energy stocks like Exxon Mobil and Chevron gained.

Exxon Mobil rose about 2.1% to $160.03 on Monday as Brent crude surpassed $90 per barrel, but the company was excluded from President Donald Trump's Tuesday meeting with refiners amid rising gasoline prices above $4 per gallon. The exclusion follows CEO Darren Woods' January comment that Venezuela remains uninvestable, prompting Trump to signal Exxon could be shut out of the country while Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, and Valero attend the meeting. The talks will cover refining capacity, biofuel mandates, and fuel-shipping costs, with Exxon absent. Exxon generated $17.2 billion in free cash flow in its latest quarter, but its stock trades 26.54% above its GF Value estimate of $126.47, indicating a hot valuation and thin margin for disappointment.