US Integrateds and E&Ps: 2Q26 Preview: Not Just Commodity Proxies

Research evidence excerpt

US Integrateds and E&Ps: 2Q26 Preview: Not Just Commodity Proxies

Equity Research

20 July 2026

US Integrateds and E&Ps

2Q26 Preview: Not Just

Commodity Proxies

Near-term macro volatility continues to overshadow U.S. Integrated Oil & E&P

improving company fundamentals across both oil- and gas- POSITIVE Unchanged

weighted E&Ps. We expect earnings season to reinforce the U.S. Integrated Oil & E&P

Betty Jiangsector's investment case, including idiosyncratic self-help

drivers. We continue to like risk/reward in DVN, OXY, VNOM, +1betty.jiang@barclays.com212 526 3557

CRC, and EQT. BCI, US

We expect earnings season to reinforce a familiar  Weekly Valuation Snapshot

message: operational momentum remains strong

Priced as of 7/20/2026

despite commodity volatility. Across the group,

management teams are increasingly emphasizing self-help

drivers that extend beyond commodity prices, including AI-enabled base optimization,

advanced recovery technologies, international growth and exploration optionality, and power-

related opportunities. While macro uncertainty is unlikely to disappear, we believe the sector is

making a stronger case that long-term value creation will be driven as much by improving

capital intensity, recovery factors, and inventory extension as by the commodity cycle itself.

We continue to see a compelling risk/reward for the upstream sector, even as investors

remain reluctant to lean into the group. Oil and gas equities have struggled to gain traction

despite renewed kinetic activity in the Middle East, growing risks of Red Sea shipping

disruptions, near-record low inventory levels, and early signs of a recovery in China crude

imports. In our view, the market remains overly confident in a rapid normalization of oil