U.S. producers, however, will benefit \u2013 those that don\u2019t have exposure to the Middle East and are not forced to shut down or restrict operations in a war region with the world\u2019s most important oil chokepoint closed.<\/p>\n
If WTI Crude<\/a>, the U.S. benchmark, stays at very high levels and averages $100 per barrel for 2026, U.S. producers are poised to reap an additional $63.4 billion cash flow, per Rystad Energy data cited by the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n To be sure, most analysts don\u2019t expect $100 oil for a prolonged period of time, although short-term spikes are not being ruled out amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Related: Little-Known US Company Lands Important Pentagon Contract in Rare Earth Race<\/a><\/p>\n For U.S. oil producers, the benefits are not as clear-cut as President Trump suggested in last week\u2019s post on Truth Social, later re-posted by the official X account of the White House.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,\u201d President Trump said<\/a> in a controversial post that rattled the oil industry.<\/p>\n The oil sector has had to contend with many other image and reputational risks in recent years, apart from the latest suggestion by the U.S. President that it is profiting from a war.<\/p>\n Shale producers are also reluctant<\/a> to rush to boost oil production, aware that the current price spike may not last and the geopolitical situation is too volatile to allow for planning beyond next week.<\/p>\n It is this uncertainty that is definitely not in favor of U.S. producers. Any excess cash from the high oil prices would likely go to boost shareholder returns, pay down debt, and hedge production for the coming months, instead of raising production, when prices could crumble in a few weeks, before producers could even contract new rigs and crews.<\/p>\n Related: Magnet Wars: How the U.S. Plans to Break China\u2019s Grip on Rare Earths<\/a><\/p>\n While the producers with mainly U.S. operations would see a windfall from the price spike, the biggest U.S. oil firms, ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as the other international supermajors with exposure to the Middle East \u2013 Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies \u2013 are already counting the losses.<\/p>\n ExxonMobil has evacuated non-essential staff from the Middle East, CEO Darren Woods told Reuters<\/a> last week, as operations are being scaled back.<\/p>\n Shell and TotalEnergies have declared force majeure<\/a> to LNG customers after Qatar\u2019s LNG shutdown rippled through global gas markets.<\/p>\n Separately, TotalEnergies said on Friday that the war in the Middle East had effectively shut in 15% of all<\/a> its global oil and gas output, while the now-offline barrels account for about 10% of the supermajor\u2019s upstream cash flow.<\/p>\n SLB, the world\u2019s top oilfield services provider, last week issued a profit warning<\/a> and said its first-quarter revenue would be hit by the production shut-ins in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cSLB revenue for the first quarter will be lower than expected, and the company expects to incur additional costs resulting in an impact of approximately 6-9 cents of earnings per diluted share for the first quarter,\u201d SLB said.<\/p>\n The company has begun \u201cto demobilize operations in a few countries in response to customer actions to safeguard personnel and facilities,\u201d the oilfield services giant said.<\/p>\n Overall, shale producers could benefit from excess cash flow in the near term, but the industry doesn\u2019t like uncertainties, which hamper longer-term investment decisions. Supermajors will likely be able to offset Middle East losses with the high oil and natural gas prices.<\/p>\n And the biggest hit is for consumers.<\/p>\n Americans were expected to spend on Sunday $300 million more on gasoline than they did 30 days ago, said<\/a> Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.<\/p>\n By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/book.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n