Oil stocks got a strong boost in the past few days after the United States’ intervention in Venezuela that saw it capture President Nicholas Maduro. The South American country, a hub for oil and other natural resources, may soon be under US control, per Donald Trump. Should the US indeed take full control of the country’s oil supply, top oil companies with ties to the country could get a boost in how much oil is available to farm without added fees to Venezuela.

Following Maduro’s capture, President Donald Trump pledged to revive the Venezuelan energy sector and put the US in charge of it. “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies — the biggest anywhere in the world — go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure — the oil infrastructure — and start making money for the country,” Trump said this past weekend.

Exxon (XOM) stock price has corrected since its Monday jump, down just over 1% on Tuesday but still up 5% since December 5. Chevron, the last major U.S. oil company in Venezuela, gained around 5% on Monday but has also ticked down on Tuesday. SLB stock is the strongest performer of the three oil stocks in the past week, up 15%.

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Furthermore, the other Oil companies that saw a stock hike were U.S. refiners that turn Venezuelan crude oil into fuel. Refiners Valero Energy (VLO) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) jumped 8% and 5% respectively. Venezuelan oil is heavier and more viscous than most of the oil the U.S. produces. Both of those companies operate refineries on the Gulf Coast that are designed to work with heavier crude blends.

A lot of investment experts suggest that as a result of the US-Venezuela situation, oil stocks could be a solid bet in 2026. Forecasts for top oil stocks like XOM and CVX remain unchanged, but should the US officially take over Venezuela’s Oil supply, those stocks could surge.