New York, Jan 16, 2026, 19:20 EST — After-hours
- Exxon Mobil shares nudged up during Friday’s session and held steady in after-hours trading.
- Oil prices held steady ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend, leaving energy stocks locked in place with the news flow.
- Traders have refocused on Venezuela crude and fresh exploration efforts in the Caribbean.
Exxon Mobil Corporation shares climbed roughly 0.6% to $129.89 in after-hours trading Friday, holding close to the closing price as investors digested shifts in the oil market and fresh focus on Venezuela’s crude exports. 1
XOM’s outlook heading into next week is tangled and fueled by headlines. Crude prices have been volatile amid geopolitical tensions, with Venezuela reemerging as a factor—not only in supply concerns but also in refinery margins.
Brent closed at $64.13 a barrel, gaining 0.6%, while U.S. WTI ended at $59.44, up 0.4%, as traders covered shorts ahead of the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, according to Reuters. Earlier this week, both benchmarks reached multi-month highs amid concerns over Iran. “The supply from Venezuela has not become the tidal wave that was expected,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. Priyanka Sachdeva of Phillip Nova added that the “underlying balance still points to ample supply.” 2
Venezuela has once again become a tricky topic for U.S. oil giants. Exxon CEO Darren Woods labeled the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week, according to Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. He said Exxon would need security guarantees and a hydrocarbon law overhaul before considering a return. The newsletter also pointed out that Chevron remains the only U.S. oil major operating there under a U.S. license. 3
Exxon appears to be revisiting an old source. According to Reuters, the company is prepping its 522,500 barrel-per-day Baton Rouge refinery in Louisiana to process Venezuelan crude again, citing people familiar with the plant’s operations. The refinery used to handle Venezuelan heavy sour crude—a thicker, high-sulfur variety—but stopped after sanctions came into effect, the report added. 4
Exxon is moving forward in the Caribbean, awarding Shearwater Geoservices a contract to conduct 3D seismic acquisition over a deepwater block off Trinidad and Tobago. The survey, expected to span roughly 6,000 square kilometers, will kick off in the first quarter of 2026 and run for about five months, Reuters reported. 5
That mix is crucial for traders since it impacts various elements of Exxon’s operations. The company sells crude, purchases crude, and refines it into products—so changes in the types of crude available or shifts in shipping lanes can squeeze margins, even if the stock price stays flat.
On the flip side, if Venezuelan output picks up quicker than anticipated and tensions with Iran ease, crude could slip, dragging energy stocks down. Should conflicts intensify, prices might spike—but that risks triggering policy backlash and dampening demand.
The U.S. stock market was closed Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Trading resumes Tuesday, giving investors less time to digest any weekend news impacting crude and the energy sector. 6
Exxon’s next big milestone is its earnings report. The company plans to announce fourth-quarter 2025 results on Friday, Jan. 30. CEO Darren Woods and CFO Kathy Mikells will walk through the details on a conference call at 8:30 a.m. CT. Exxon also confirmed that incoming CFO Neil Hansen, starting Feb. 1, will join the call. 7
