New York, February 16, 2026, 15:04 EST — Market closed.
- Chevron last closed up 0.73% at $183.74 on Friday.
- Chevron-led group signed leases to explore for gas off Greece, a long-dated project.
- Oil’s next swing hinges on U.S.-Iran talks due Tuesday and an OPEC+ policy call on March 1.
Chevron Corporation shares head into Tuesday’s Wall Street reopen with fresh upstream news: the oil major has signed contracts to explore for natural gas off Greece, widening its push in the eastern Mediterranean.
U.S. equity markets were shut on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, leaving investors to price the Greece move at the next session. (New York Stock Exchange)
Chevron’s U.S.-listed shares last closed up 0.73% at $183.74 on Friday. With no cash market on Monday, traders have leaned on crude moves and headlines to frame Tuesday’s first prints. (Reuters)
Chevron and partner Helleniq Energy on Monday signed exclusive leases to search for gas in four deep-water blocks south of the Peloponnese and Crete, covering about 47,000 square kilometres. The deal doubles Greece’s offshore acreage open for exploration and follows Exxon Mobil’s separate Greek exploration agreement; U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle said the initiative could “redraw” Europe’s energy map. Greek officials said parliament must ratify the leases before seismic surveys — underground imaging — start later this year, and test drilling would not come before 2030-2032. (Reuters)
That long runway is the point and the problem. The signature keeps Chevron in the basin and ties it to Europe’s hunt for gas supply, but the market rarely pays full price for barrels that may not show up for years.
Oil remains the louder tape. Brent crude was trading around $68-$69 a barrel on Monday, up on the day, even as holiday-thinned flows dulled some of the usual cross-asset signals. (Trading Economics)
Chevron’s mix matters here. As an integrated producer, it earns from pumping oil and gas and from turning crude into fuels and chemicals, so shifts in crude prices and refining conditions can wash through expectations quickly.
There are risks on both fronts. Deep-water exploration can slip, costs can jump and politics can change course; there is also the simpler downside that the wells do not deliver commercial gas. A softer crude market would test energy shares broadly, especially if the supply outlook turns looser.
On Monday, Brent — the global benchmark — settled up 90 cents at $68.65 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main U.S. benchmark, traded at $63.75 with no settlement because of the holiday. “Fears of supply disruption” have kept prices stable, Tamas Varga at PVM said, while SEB analysts flagged a $60-$80 range tied to Iran tensions. Traders next watch a second round of U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and an OPEC+ decision point on March 1. (Reuters)
