Chevron Raises Exploration Spending by 50% as It Returns to Frontier Basins, Prioritizing Geopolitical Diversification Away from Key Chokepoints

Chevron is sharply increasing its exploration budget by roughly 50%, targeting more than $1.5 billion in 2026 compared with just under $1 billion in 2025. The move, driven by Vice President of Exploration Kevin McLachlan (recruited from TotalEnergies), marks a deliberate return to high-impact frontier basins after years of heavier focus on the U.S. Gulf […]

Continue Reading

ExxonMobil Signals Soaring Refining Earnings as Downstream Boom Offsets Upstream Pressure

ExxonMobil’s preliminary third-quarter update has put refining front and center for investors. Higher refining margins are expected to add roughly $4.5 billion to downstream earnings compared with the second quarter—on top of the $4.1 billion the company already generated from refining in Q2. That surge comes even as upstream earnings face an estimated $1.3 billion […]

Continue Reading

Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) on September 16 to operate and develop the Ayacucho 2 Block in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt, marking the Oklahoma independent’s first move into the country and adding another U.S. operator to a rapidly expanding slate of post-sanctions oil deals.

The MOU is not a final development contract. Continental and PDVSA said they intend to convert it into a long-term Contrato de Participación Productiva (CPP) in the coming weeks. Once that agreement is signed, Continental would operate the block with a 100% working interest. The announcement was made in Houston during the G20 energy ministers […]

Continue Reading