Exxon, Chevron, and other U.S. oil and gas producers and refiners reach record-high stock values amid the Iran war as consumers bear the cost

This week, the market capitalization of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and numerous other U.S. oil and gas producers, refiners, and exporters hit all-time highs amid the Iran conflict and global fears of rising fuel and power costs as well as supply shortages.

American Big Oil giants have seen their stock prices rise roughly 30% this year, as global oil prices spiked to $100 per barrel—the highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have also skyrocketed, along with refining profit margins for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. This means big winners span the entire industry: from Exxon to LNG exporters Cheniere Energy and Venture Global, to refiners like Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum, and Phillips 66.

In the U.S., the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is above $3.60 and climbing—up 32% from its January low—but this pales in comparison to Asian nations, where consumers face long fuel lines and shortened work weeks due to their greater reliance on Middle Eastern oil and Qatari LNG.

The U.S. and other countries are tapping into emergency oil reserves at record levels, but these releases will take months to roll out gradually. Meanwhile, the world is missing 20% of its daily oil and LNG supplies, which are trapped in the bottlenecked Strait of Hormuz near Iran.

“The U.S. is the biggest producer in the world, and our supplies are not bottlenecked,” said oil forecaster Dan Pickering, founder of consulting and research firm Pickering Energy Partners. “So [American producers’] financial results are absolutely going to benefit from this. That’s a lot different than if you’re in the Middle East with production that can’t move.”

The stock values of U.S. energy companies stand in contrast to the declining Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, which have fallen 5% and 2% respectively over the past month. As the war drags on, talk of both inflation and so-called stagflation is mounting again.

At the same time, the U.S. crude oil benchmark has surged a whopping 70% since the start of the year—when the industry was still worried about weaker prices and global oil oversupplies. Earlier, the focus was on utility prices replacing pump prices as the new political bellwether in a midterm election year, but now fuel prices are skyrocketing too.

As a result, industry leader Exxon’s market cap is up nearly 30% this year to a new high of $643 billion. Chevron is up over 30% to almost $400 billion. Occidental Petroleum, which had been struggling in market performance, is up 43% this year.

Venture Global, the fastest-growing U.S. LNG exporter, has seen its stock jump 92% since January 1. Leading natural gas pipeline firm Williams saw its market cap hit a new high of $92 billion.

Top refineries, which help supply fuels to the world, have seen their market caps rise between almost 40% and nearly 50% this year. Valero, Marathon, and Phillips 66 now all have market caps above $70 billion—all at record highs.

The companies themselves aren’t saying much due to heightened geopolitical tensions and a reluctance to discuss profiting from war and consumers’ financial strain. Exxon did not respond to comment requests, while Chevron declined comment except to note it’s focused on the safety of its employees and assets.

But Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel commented during his March 2 earnings call that VG has the “most available cargoes” to sell on the spot market. And because Venture Global owns much of its tanker fleet, it doesn’t need to cover higher tanker costs.

“There are markets in Asia that are also heavily reliant on Qatar supply. Every day that ships can’t flow through, that creates a lot of backup and incremental demand,” Sabel said. “We’re uniquely able to move cargoes with our own vessels in this market.”