New York, Feb 19, 2026, 18:50 ET — After-hours
- Exxon Mobil ended after-hours trading up 0.2% at $150.97. Shares moved between $150.85 and $153.36 earlier in the day.
- Exxon’s efforts to assess the natural gas potential at Guyana’s Stabroek Block continue, with the company considering a possible second gas project, according to the country’s natural resources minister.
- The company put in a shelf registration for debt securities—a standard move that lets it move faster on bond offerings down the line.
Exxon Mobil shares barely budged in Thursday’s after-hours session as a stronger oil tape set the backdrop. Investors kept an eye on new details about the company’s Guyana gas strategy and took in a fresh debt shelf filing.
Exxon’s shares remain tied to daily crude fluctuations, despite management’s efforts to spotlight major, long-horizon ventures like Guyana and LNG — projects pitched as resilient through whatever the macro picture throws their way.
Credit markets are drawing attention, too. Exxon filing a shelf registration doesn’t guarantee a bond sale is imminent—it just puts them in position to move quickly if borrowing conditions turn favorable.
Exxon edged 0.2% higher to $150.97 after hours. Shares earlier hit $153.36 but slipped to $150.85, energy names tracking moves in oil and the broader market.
Oil prices finished at their highest levels in six months, with Brent adding $1.31 to $71.66 a barrel, up 1.9%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate climbed $1.24, also 1.9%, closing at $66.43. “Geopolitical tensions and the worry that the U.S. is going to strike (Iran) in the near future,” are keeping a bid under prices, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. (Reuters)
Company news out of Guyana kept attention fixed there. Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said Exxon is still assessing just how much natural gas is in the offshore Stabroek Block, as the company considers gas projects that could serve domestic needs first, with an eye on possible exports down the line. (Reuters)
This week at the Guyana Energy Conference, Exxon Guyana President Alistair Routledge told Reuters the consortium plans to request government approval for a second gas development in the southeast. They’re also looking at another FPSO — that’s a floating production, storage and offloading vessel — for the effort. (Reuters)
Just a day before, Routledge told reporters that Exxon’s Uaru and Whiptail oil projects in Guyana are progressing faster than planned and costing less than expected. According to Reuters, Uaru should come online in 2026, Whiptail in 2027, and both are designed for 250,000 barrels per day. (Reuters)
LNG is shaping up as a key short-term indicator. This week, the Golden Pass facility in Texas—run by Exxon and QatarEnergy—pulled in more natural gas, a sign it’s edging closer to initial LNG output, Reuters reported, citing LSEG data. Exxon CEO Darren Woods has pegged the first shipments for “in very early March.” (Reuters)
Exxon filed on Wednesday to register debt securities using a “shelf” mechanism, clearing the way to issue bonds in one or more future sales, each usually detailed in a separate prospectus supplement. (Sec)
Plenty could still go off track here. Should U.S.-Iran tensions ease, crude’s risk premium could vanish fast—and energy shares usually hand back those earlier gains. Over in Guyana, Exxon and the government have pegged the timing of new gas infrastructure to whatever happens with local industrial demand, which keeps shifting.
Traders now turn to Friday to see if oil’s rally can stick, with an eye on fresh Middle East headlines that could keep volatility up. For Exxon, early March brings Golden Pass’s first LNG on deck, while officials in Guyana are expected to give their next word on authorizing the next phase of gas development.
