New York, February 18, 2026, 11:52 (EST) — Regular session
- XOM climbed roughly 2.5% with crude prices bouncing back and energy stocks finding their footing.
- Exxon’s warning over demand has pushed Guyana’s gas ambitions back into the spotlight.
- Coming up: Fed minutes hit at 2 p.m. EST, while U.S. inventory data—delayed—still waits in the wings.
Exxon Mobil climbed $3.64, up 2.5%, to $149.83 late Wednesday morning. Shares have bounced around between $146.73 and $149.84 during the session.
This shift is catching attention as oil names take the front seat once more, following a rocky period in U.S. stocks. Early session: the S&P 500 energy index climbed roughly 1.1%, beating out the broader market’s smaller uptick.
Crude powered higher, with Brent futures, the global benchmark, adding $1.96, or 2.9%, to $69.38 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) moved up $1.75, or 2.8%, reaching $64.08 by 1440 GMT. The bounce followed an abrupt end to Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Geneva, while tensions between the U.S. and Iran lingered. “Yesterday’s dip was viewed as a buying opportunity,” said Tamas Varga at oil broker PVM, speaking to Reuters. Reuters
Exxon is charting its own course. Speaking at the Guyana Energy Conference, upstream chief Dan Ammann said the company’s pipeline is ready to go, but the country has to pick up the pace on industrial projects to keep demand up. “As soon as that demand picture evolves … then we’ll be ready to meet it,” Ammann told the crowd. He also flagged that parts of the Stabroek Block are still under force majeure because of the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute — which, he noted, means Exxon is waiting to get back in: “We’re as eager as anybody to get back into those areas as soon as we can.” Reuters
Not all the news from Australia was good. Exxon’s Mobil Oil Australia picked up a A$16 million ($11.3 million) penalty after admitting it misled customers about fuel additives at nine Queensland petrol stations, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. “Some people chose to fill up … because they thought they were getting a different quality of petrol,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said. Mobil confirmed to Reuters that it has now either covered or removed the claims in question, conceding the missteps. Reuters
Chevron climbed around 1.3%, BP was up close to 1.6%, and Shell tacked on nearly 1.9%—all three tracking oil’s rebound in U.S. trading.
Crude prices still call the tune for Exxon stock, at least in the near term. The company’s scale — spanning production, refining, and fuel sales — ties its shares closely to shifting expectations for oil and gas prices in the coming months, rather than just reacting to isolated news events.
Still, traders are watching Guyana’s government for moves on gas demand—the schedule for power plants and downstream projects decides how fast that gas generates cash instead of sitting idle as stranded capacity.
Still, that knife cuts both ways. Should geopolitical tensions ease, oil could shed gains just as quickly—Exxon’s rally would likely unwind too. Over in Guyana, any holdup on the demand side for onshore gas would postpone returns from the infrastructure, regardless of when supply comes online.
Eyes are now on two big items just ahead: The Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes land at 2 p.m. EST. Then the Energy Information Administration puts out its Weekly Petroleum Status Report on Thursday, February 19, with releases at noon and again at 2 p.m. ET, adjusted due to Monday’s federal holiday. Over in Guyana, executives and project deadlines stay in focus as the conference stretches through February 20.
