New York, Jan 13, 2026, 13:05 EST — Regular session
- Exxon shares rose about 2% and touched a new 52-week high in early afternoon trading.
- Oil jumped roughly 3% as traders priced in possible disruption to Iranian exports.
- Investors are watching U.S. policy moves on Venezuela and Exxon’s Jan. 30 earnings.
Exxon Mobil shares rose 1.9% to $126.37 on Tuesday, after touching $126.99 earlier in the session, a new 52-week high. About 8 million shares had changed hands by early afternoon. 1
The move matters now because oil has snapped higher on geopolitics, while Washington’s push to restart Venezuela’s oil industry has left energy firms weighing opportunity against old scars. Brent settled at a seven-week high on Monday. 2
Brent and U.S. crude were up about 3% on Tuesday, with Barclays putting the Iran unrest premium at $3-$4 a barrel. “The tariff hike would primarily affect Iranian crude flows to China and India,” said Jim Ritterbusch, an analyst at Ritterbusch and Associates. 3
Venezuela is the other thread investors keep tugging. Exxon remains interested in visiting the country and is prepared to send an assessment team, a source familiar with the company’s strategy told Reuters, after President Donald Trump said he might keep Exxon out. American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers said companies would need greater security and contract protections before moving in and called unresolved expropriation debts a “significant hurdle.” 4
Other oil majors moved with crude. Chevron rose 1.8%, ConocoPhillips gained 1.4%, Shell added 2.5% and BP climbed 2.7%, while the Vanguard Energy ETF was up 1.6%; the SPDR S&P 500 ETF slipped about 0.2%.
Still, the longer view is messier. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday it expects Brent to average $58 a barrel in 2026, down from $69 in 2025, and warned prices could fall more steeply if sanctions on Venezuela ease and supply rises beyond its forecast assumptions. 5
That is the downside scenario for Exxon’s tape: the Iran premium fades, Venezuela barrels return faster than expected, and crude gives back its recent gains just as companies face louder calls to spend. Exxon also faces a legal overhang tied to Louisiana coastal damage lawsuits now before the U.S. Supreme Court, with a decision expected by June. 6
A Reuters column on Monday underscored why investors have treated Venezuela as a political headline, not an investment case — at least yet. Exxon CEO Darren Woods called the country “un-investible” on commercial and legal grounds and stressed the long lead times for megaprojects: “The investments that we make span decades,” he said. 7
The next hard marker is earnings. Exxon is due to host its fourth-quarter results call on Jan. 30, with Woods and CFO Kathy Mikells scheduled to present; the company has said Neil Hansen becomes CFO on Feb. 1. 8
For now, traders are watching whether the U.S. moves quickly on Venezuela sanctions and whether Iran unrest keeps a floor under crude into next week. Exxon’s Jan. 30 report is the next catalyst that can either validate the rally — or expose how much of it is just oil and headlines.
