Tennis fans around the world cheered for the great Novak Djokovic, as the 38-year-old Serbian won a come-from-behind semifinal victory against Italy’s Jannik Sinner (24) in the Australian Open. Djokovic eventually lost the final 1:3 to the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (22), but that did not stop us from celebrating his longevity and grit on the court.
Let’s dig deeper into two energy news stories from the past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
ExxonMobil’s Market Cap Tops $600 Billion Despite Low Oil Prices
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ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest international oil company, rode its recent share price rise to reach a record $605-billion market capitalization. The company’s production reached more than 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q4 2025, its highest during the past four decades.
About ExxonMobil:
ExxonMobil’s full-year 2025 and Q4 results beat analysts’ expectations, while Brent rose above $70 per barrel briefly due to tensions around Iran. These factors buoyed ExxonMobil’s market cap to its new record.
ExxonMobil outperformed its peers recently, with its share price increasing by 26 percent over the past three months, despite Brent averaging $64/barrel for the same period.
As of 3 February, ExxonMobil’s market cap was $605 billion, compared with $354 billion for Chevron, $218 billion for Shell, $157 billion for TotalEnergies, $130 billion for ConocoPhillips, and $101 billion for BP.
ExxonMobil distributed $37.2 billion to its shareholders, including dividends ($17.2 billion) and share buybacks ($20 billion).
ExxonMobil produced 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, including 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q4, the highest in more than four decades.
Drivers for ExxonMobil’s 2025 results:
ExxonMobil said its record results benefited from three “advantaged assets:” The Permian (1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day), Guyana (0.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day), and LNG.
For Q4, the Permian and Guyana set new production records, reaching 1.8 million and 875,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, respectively.
ExxonMobil said that it achieved 2030 plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and flaring intensity.
In 2025, ExxonMobil delivered 10 major projects, including three in the upstream sector: Yellowtail in Guyana, Golden Pass LNG in the United States, and Bacalhau (Equinor-operated) in Brazil.
The market liked ExxonMobil’s progress around upstream production growth and cost reduction. It also reacted positively to ExxonMobil’s cautious approach to investment in Venezuela.
During the analyst call, CEO Darren Woods emphasized that his company does not have “real advantage or expertise in green business.”
What’s next:
ExxonMobil is projected to produce first LNG from its joint venture with Qatar Energy in Golden Pass in March 2026.
Woods said that FID in Mozambique LNG could be in 2H 2026.
ExxonMobil is looking at how to improve the recovery rate in the Permian and other basins.
Neil Hansen will replace Kathryn Mikells as CFO beginning in February 2026, as Mikells retires due to health reasons.
To read the full transcript of ExxonMobil’s analyst call, refer here.
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New Law Paves the Way for Foreign Investment in Venezuela
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Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, signed a new hydrocarbon law with key changes. The new law will open the country’s oil and gas business for international private investors, providing better fiscal incentives and legal protection.
On 31 January, President Trump said that he welcomes Chinese and Indian investments in Venezuela’s oil industry.
Trump also told the media that the U.S. is working with India to buy Venezuelan oil, “as opposed to buying it from Iran.”
According to the press in India, the country’s government representatives held discussions with the Venezuelan government relating to $600 million in dividends that ONGC Videsh claimed to have in Venezuela.
According to the WSJ, Chinese national oil companies held claim to more than 4 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil, almost five times that of the barrels held by Chevron.
What they’re saying:
“This (new law) will allow investment flows to be directed to new fields, to fields where no investment has ever been made, and where there is no infrastructure,” said interim president Delcy Rodríguez.
“These reforms are necessary to allow for an increase in oil production,” said Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy’s older brother, who leads the legislature. “As the acting president has said, oil underground is useless.”
What to watch:
Which American, European, and/or Asian companies will be the first to take concrete steps to (re) enter Venezuela?
SLB said in its Q4 results call that it has been contacted by several companies regarding Venezuelan business opportunities.
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