New York, Feb 5, 2026, 14:08 (ET) — Regular session
- Chevron shares down about 1.2% in afternoon trading as crude prices slide
- Company outlined leadership changes across strategy, trading and business development
- Traders focus on Friday’s U.S.-Iran talks and the next swing in oil prices
Chevron shares fell 1.2% to $179.12 on Thursday, reversing earlier gains and tracking a softer tape for energy. The stock has ranged between $177.46 and $181.89, after closing at $181.23 in the prior session.
Oil prices were down around 2% in choppy trade, pulling on energy stocks across the board. Brent, the global benchmark, fell $1.59 to $67.87 a barrel and U.S. crude (WTI) slid $1.51 to $63.63 after the United States and Iran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, easing immediate supply fears. “We still don’t know what the outcome will be of those talks,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, while analysts at Aegis Hedging said shifting expectations were “injecting volatility into crude prices.” Reuters
Chevron, meanwhile, laid out senior leadership changes that will roll through strategy, trading and business development, with a cluster of long-serving executives set to retire. Frank Mount will retire in November and Patricia Leigh in July, while Molly Laegeler is slated to take over supply and trading on March 1 and Kevin Lyon will become chief strategy officer on the same date; Jeanine Wai and Gerbert Schoonman are due to step into roles on April 1 and Jake Spiering is set to take over corporate business development on Aug. 1.
Outside the U.S., the company has been stacking up deal headlines. Chevron signed a memorandum of understanding — an initial, non-binding agreement — with Syria’s state oil firm and Qatar’s UCC Holding to evaluate offshore oil and gas exploration, a Chevron spokesperson said.
Chevron also renewed its commitment to the Yoyo-Yolanda gas project straddling Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, after the two countries signed a legal contract to combine separate leases into a single unit for joint development. The Chevron-operated fields contain an estimated 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, and the project is “central to Chevron’s strategy of supporting long-term liquefied natural gas supply,” said Jim Swartz, managing director for Chevron Nigeria and the mid-Africa region. Reuters
In Asia, Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical signed memorandums of understanding with Chevron and other U.S. firms in Washington to buy U.S. crude oil, ethanol and corn, Vietnam’s state media reported.
Chevron also struck a bullish tone in a Feb. 3 investor presentation, pointing to record 2025 production and $27 billion in cash returned to shareholders. The company said adjusted free cash flow rose 35% even as oil prices fell about 15%, and it flagged a target of roughly $12.5 billion in additional free cash flow by 2026 under a set of price and margin assumptions.
Chevron’s pullback broadly mirrored other oil majors on Thursday: Exxon Mobil was down about 1.4%, BP fell about 2.8% and Shell dropped more than 5%.
But the read-through from crude to oil stocks can turn quickly. If Friday’s U.S.-Iran meeting breaks down or Gulf shipping risks flare again, oil could snap back; if diplomacy cools tensions and supply worries fade, crude could stay heavy and keep pressure on the group.
For Chevron, the next clear catalyst is the oil market’s reaction to the Oman talks on Feb. 6, with traders watching whether crude volatility bleeds into equities going into Friday’s close.
