New York, Jan 5, 2026, 09:23 EST — Premarket
- Chevron and other U.S. energy shares rose in premarket trade after President Donald Trump signaled a push to open Venezuela’s oil sector.
- Investors focused on Chevron’s head start in Venezuela and on potential benefits for Gulf Coast refiners that run heavy, high-sulfur crude.
- Traders are watching for U.S. sanctions and licensing details, with Chevron’s next earnings call set for Jan. 30.
Chevron shares rose in premarket trading on Monday as U.S. energy stocks reacted to President Donald Trump’s latest comments on Venezuela, raising expectations that American companies could gain access to the country’s vast crude reserves.
The move matters because Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves, yet years of mismanagement, underinvestment and U.S. sanctions have left output far below past levels. Any policy shift that accelerates investment could reshape crude flows over time and alter the economics for refiners that rely on heavy feedstocks.
Oil prices were little changed, underscoring how traders still see ample global supply in the near term. Brent crude was up 0.6% at $61.12 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 0.7% to $57.73 at 1244 GMT, while OPEC+ decided on Sunday to keep output steady.
Chevron was up about 2.3% at $155.90, while ConocoPhillips gained roughly 3.3% and Exxon Mobil added about 1.9%, according to market data. PBF Energy climbed about 5.2%, with oilfield services firms Halliburton and SLB up about 4.7% to 4.8%.
Venezuelan crude is typically “heavy sour” oil — dense crude with high sulfur — and U.S. Gulf Coast refineries were built to process those grades. “This type of crude aligns well with the configuration of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries which were historically designed to process such grades,” said Ahmad Assiri, a research strategist at Pepperstone. 1
Trump said the U.S. would take control of Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and he has said an embargo on Venezuelan oil exports remains in effect for now. That keeps near-term supply expectations in check even as equities price in longer-run optionality.
Chevron is the only U.S. oil major currently operating in Venezuela’s oil fields under a restricted U.S. authorization. Reuters reported on Saturday that the company exports around 150,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, though the authorization limits what Chevron can do and bars payments to the Maduro administration.
White House and State Department officials have also told U.S. oil executives that they would need to return quickly and put up significant capital to rebuild Venezuela’s damaged oil industry if they want compensation for assets expropriated two decades ago, according to two people familiar with the outreach. 2
Analysts at J.P. Morgan said the U.S. action could improve the odds of recovering arbitration awards linked to assets seized in 2007 under late leader Hugo Chavez. They put ConocoPhillips’ outstanding claims at about $10 billion and said Exxon’s outstanding damages appear to be around $2 billion.
Still, investors face a long list of uncertainties. Analysts have warned that meaningful production recovery would take time given political instability, decayed infrastructure and the need for very large investment — and any continued embargo or tighter licensing terms could cap what U.S. firms can do in the near term.
Next up, markets are looking for concrete signals from Washington on sanctions and licensing rules for Venezuela, and for any guidance from management teams on how the policy shift could affect strategy. Chevron is scheduled to hold its quarterly earnings conference call on Friday, Jan. 30 at 11:00 a.m. ET, when investors will press for details on risk, cash flows and exposure. 3
