ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) shares fell about 5.5% in premarket trading Monday after the company reported that conflicts in the Middle East disrupted operations at several assets in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during the first quarter of 2026.
ExxonMobil said the interruptions are expected to cut global oil-equivalent output by roughly 6% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. Facilities in the Middle East account for around 20% of the company’s worldwide oil-equivalent production.
In Qatar, attacks earlier in the quarter affected two LNG processing trains in which ExxonMobil has ownership stakes. These facilities represented about 3% of the company’s upstream production in 2025. The company said public information suggests the damage could require an extended repair period, although it cannot estimate when operations will return to normal until a full on-site assessment is completed.
The disruptions also had an impact on ExxonMobil’s Product Solutions division. Middle Eastern assets make up roughly 5% of the company’s global refining and chemicals capacity. Reduced crude availability at Asia-Pacific facilities is expected to lower global Energy Products throughput by about 2% in the first quarter.
Supply interruptions also prevented the delivery of physical shipments linked to several financial hedging contracts, creating an estimated earnings impact of $0.6 billion to $0.8 billion that will be recorded as identified items.
Additionally, the company said timing effects tied to rising commodity prices between December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2026 are expected to reduce first-quarter earnings by $3.5 billion to $4.9 billion.
Despite these headwinds, ExxonMobil expects first-quarter earnings per share to exceed those reported in the fourth quarter of 2025 when timing effects are excluded.
Separately, ExxonMobil noted that the Golden Pass LNG project achieved first production from Train 1 at its Sabine Pass facility on March 30. The company also reiterated plans to raise Permian Basin output to about 1.8 million oil-equivalent barrels per day in 2026.