ExxonMobil Outproduced Chevron and ConocoPhillips in Q2 2026 as Permian Output Hit Record Levels
Exxon's 4.51 million boe/d led U.S. majors in the second quarter, with upstream earnings surging to $7.9 billion on record Permian volumes.
ExxonMobil produced 4.514 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2026, leading U.S. major oil rankings ahead of Chevron and ConocoPhillips, according to second-quarter results statements published on August 10 (2026-08-10).4
Chevron came in second at 4.070 million boe/d, with ConocoPhillips a more distant third at 2.248 million boe/d. The gap between first and second place was roughly 444,000 boe/d — comparable to the incremental output of a mid-sized OPEC producer. With ICE Brent crude front-month trading at $85.00 per barrel as of 2026-08-10, upstream margins across all three companies held firm through the quarter.4,3
Exxon's Q2 figure was a step down from its first-quarter output of 4.594 million boe/d, leaving its year-to-date average at 4.554 million boe/d. The company attributed the sequential improvement in earnings to record Permian production of more than 1.8 million boe/d and the absence of operational disruptions in Kazakhstan.4
Upstream earnings reflected the shift. They rose from $5.737 billion in Q1 2026 to $7.927 billion in Q2 2026, bringing Exxon's year-to-date 2026 upstream total to $13.664 billion. ExxonMobil's total Q2 earnings came in at $14.5 billion, up sharply from $4.2 billion in Q2 2025, oilprice.com reported on August 7 (2026-08-07).4,3
Chevron moved the other way on volume. Its Q2 output of 4.070 million boe/d rose from 3.858 million boe/d in Q1 2026 and from 3.396 million boe/d in Q2 2025, a year-on-year gain of more than 670,000 boe/d. That sequential jump suggests project ramp-ups absorbed whatever headwinds the company faced. Barclays raised its Chevron price target to $216 from $213 following the earnings report, Rigzone reported on August 10 (2026-08-10), while Bernstein lifted its target to $209 from $204.4,3
ConocoPhillips moved in the opposite direction. Its Q2 figure of 2.248 million boe/d fell short of the 2.391 million boe/d it produced in Q2 2025, a year-on-year decline of roughly 143,000 boe/d. Its year-to-date 2026 average of 2.278 million boe/d also tracked below its 2025 year-to-date figure of 2.391 million boe/d, according to its results statement.4
The divergence across the three companies reflects different portfolio exposures and development timelines. Exxon's slight sequential dip from a structurally higher base points to normal variability around an expanding Permian position. Chevron's sharp year-on-year jump is harder to dismiss as noise. ConocoPhillips' decline is the outlier, without a clear single explanation available in the published results.4
Against the company-level picture, the EIA's July Short-Term Energy Outlook projected total U.S. crude output averaging 14.03 million boe/d in 2027, with Lower 48 states excluding the Gulf of America accounting for 11.65 million boe/d of that figure. The three majors reporting in August collectively produced roughly 10.8 million boe/d in Q2 2026, underscoring how concentrated U.S. output has become across a handful of large-cap operators.1
FactSet data cited by oilprice.com on August 3 (2026-08-03) showed 86% of S&P 500 companies reporting through that date had exceeded Wall Street's earnings expectations, setting the backdrop against which the oil majors filed their own scorecards.2
The forward variable most worth tracking is Exxon's Guyana expansion. The company disclosed that a fifth FPSO had set sail with production startup planned for Q4 2026, adding 250,000 barrels per day of capacity on delivery. That volume, if it arrives on schedule, would narrow a substantial portion of the current gap between Exxon and Chevron's output. Deepwater project timelines have a history of slipping, and Guyana is not immune. Whether the startup holds to Q4 will be the first number to watch when Q3 results arrive.4