New York, March 2, 2026, 10:56 EST — Regular session
Chevron Corporation shares rose 1.3% to $189.12 in morning trade on Monday, after crude oil futures jumped more than 6%. The stock hit $191.44 earlier and has traded as low as $187.22, with about 3.1 million shares changing hands; Exxon Mobil was up about 0.7%. 1
Oil and gas prices surged after Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran and retaliation by Tehran forced shutdowns of energy facilities across the Middle East and snarled shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about a fifth of global oil demand. Brent climbed as much as 13% to $82.37 a barrel before easing to $79.14, up 8.6%, while U.S. WTI was up 7.5% at $72.07. “Markets are acknowledging the seriousness of the conflict, but are also signalling that, for now, this is a geopolitical shock, not a systemic crisis,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior analyst at Phillip Nova; OPEC+ — the OPEC group and allies led by Russia — agreed on Sunday to lift April output by 206,000 barrels a day. 2
That matters for CVX now because investors tend to treat big oil as a direct read-through from crude prices, and a hedge when risk breaks out elsewhere. The S&P 500 was down about 0.5% in early trade, leaving energy stocks as one of the few areas holding up. 3
Chevron also has operating exposure in the region. The Israeli government instructed Chevron to temporarily shut the giant Leviathan gas field offshore Israel, where the company is expanding capacity to around 21 billion cubic metres a year as part of a $35 billion export deal to Egypt; a Chevron spokesperson said its facilities were safe. QatarEnergy halted LNG output and was set to declare force majeure — a contract clause that can let firms suspend deliveries after events beyond their control. “The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at Verisk Maplecroft. 4
For Asian buyers, the squeeze is already showing up in logistics. The region sources about 60% of its oil from Middle Eastern producers, and traffic through the Hormuz chokepoint has started to thin as shippers pull back. “Transit volumes have already declined with vessels parking outside the Strait,” Citi analysts wrote. 5
But the upside case for Chevron is not clean. If crude prices cool quickly or supply outages prove short-lived, the risk premium can unwind fast and take energy shares with it.
A longer disruption can also raise costs across the chain — from shipping to refined-product demand — and that can squeeze downstream profits even as upstream pricing improves. Chevron sits on both sides of that trade.
Traders are watching for any sign that Gulf shipping lanes and key gas fields can restart, and for how long the market keeps paying for geopolitical insurance in crude. The headline tape has been moving the stock more than company news.
The next near-term marker is March 5, when a cluster of marine insurers’ war-risk cancellations are due to take effect, tightening coverage for the Gulf and adjacent waters. “TD3C rates were rising exponentially before the attacks and will continue to remain elevated,” said Emril Jamil, a senior LSEG analyst, referring to a benchmark Middle East-to-China oil shipping rate. 6
