High oil prices triggered by the US military strike on Iran have turned into a windfall for American energy majors. Chevron and ExxonMobil both posted massive second-quarter profits, with net income reaching $12bn and $14.7bn respectively.
The extraordinary earnings are a direct consequence of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that has been blocked for more than five months. That has cut daily global crude supplies by around 16 million barrels, pushing prices high and rewarding companies with assets outside the Gulf region.
Chevron reported adjusted net profit of about $12bn, or $6.06 per share, for Q2 2026. The company’s upstream hydrocarbon extraction profit reached $8.2bn, a 200% jump year on year. Average daily output rose to 4 million barrels of oil equivalent, compared with 3.85 million barrels in the first quarter.
Chevron counts on Americas output
Chevron’s production in the US Permian Basin in Texas and offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico exceeded 2 million barrels daily. In Venezuela, its joint ventures with local partners delivered 280,000 barrels of crude per day.
The downstream segment earned $4.9bn, its strongest quarterly result in a decade, thanks to shortages of chemicals and petrochemicals caused by halted deliveries from Persian Gulf states. During the quarter, Chevron bought back $3bn of its own shares and paid a $3.5bn interim dividend, with buybacks planned to continue in the second half of the year.
ExxonMobil pushes forward despite limited Gulf access
ExxonMobil posted $14.7bn in net profit, or $3.52 per share, a 200% increase compared with the same period last year. The company produced 4.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The Strait of Hormuz blockage, however, prevents ExxonMobil from extracting oil and gas from its fields in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. To offset that, the company announced that a fifth offshore production platform in the Caribbean, near Guyana, will be launched in Q4, adding 250,000 barrels of daily capacity.
In the same quarter, ExxonMobil spent $5.1bn on share buybacks and paid $4.3bn in dividends, saying the buyback programme would continue.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Adwo / Shutterstock
