In investing circles, “oil and gas” are often spoken in the same breath when talking about the energy industry, markets and stocks. While it’s true that these areas share some overlap, it’s also important for investors to understand that there are key differences when it comes to oil and natural gas.
On the one hand, demand for both is dependent on the state of the global economy. Also, increasing oil production can boost production of natural gas, depending on the geology of the field being exploited.
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But there are also key differences in the two markets. Notably, natural gas prices are heavily weather dependent, as the commodity is widely used to heat and cool homes and businesses. And natural gas is expected to have a greater role as a bridge fuel between coal and renewables when it comes to generating electricity for the energy transition and to power artificial intelligence data centers.
In the shorter term, oil prices have been generally moving lower this year, while natural gas prices have been generally rising.
John Berman, founder and chief investment officer with commodity trading and investment management company Berman Capital Group, explains that oil market participants have been expecting a supply glut in 2026, while the natural gas market is getting short-term support from America’s about-face on liquefied natural gas exports.
The U.S. LNG market got a boost earlier this year when the Trump administration removed a Biden-era moratorium on new LNG exports to nations that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S. Large coastal facilities suck up natural gas produced cheaply in the United States, chill it and load it on to ships destined for places like Europe and Asia, where natural gas is much more expensive.
One similarity for both oil and gas prices is that they are notoriously volatile, as they are linked to broad economic health as well as production decisions by oil- and gas-producing nations. The energy transition also poses a systemic risk to these companies, but they also have deep enough pockets to invest in renewable energy, carbon capture or other carbon-reducing technologies.
Oil and gas investors also need to pay attention to the ever-shifting realm of world politics and economics.
“Oil winners and losers are hard to predict these days because so much is dependent on global political forces rather than traditional business considerations,” says Arie Brish, a business professor at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Those factors include how the Russia-Ukraine war will evolve; unknowns concerning Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions on the nation; and the situation in Venezuela, Brish says.
“A mitigation strategy should be a diverse portfolio of oil producers from multiple countries,” he says. “Mix it up with smaller producers and a mix of up-stream, mid-stream, down-stream and oil tanker companies.”
With that in mind, here are the top oil and gas stocks to buy for 2026:
| Oil/Gas Stock | Forward Dividend Yield | Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E) |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. (ticker: XOM) | 3.5% | 17.5 |
| BP PLC (BP) | 5.8% | 55.6 |
| Chevron Corp. (CVX) | 4.6% | 21.2 |
| Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) | 2.4% | 29.6 |
| Williams Cos. Inc. (WMB) | 3.4% | 31 |
| Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) | 1.2% | 10.7 |
| SLB Ltd. (SLB) | 3.0% | 14.8 |
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)
This oil and gas supermajor often makes the list of experts’ top picks for oil and gas stocks. Like other Big Oil companies, supermajors are vertically integrated, meaning they own the entire supply chain, from exploring for hydrocarbons, getting oil and gas out of the ground and refining it, to transporting it and selling it to end consumers.
When it comes to the renewable energy transition, Exxon has deep pockets to spend on new technologies. It has dabbled in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lower-emission fuels and lithium, a key mineral for electric vehicle batteries and grid storage.
Still, all of the supermajors remain oil and gas companies at heart, as they try to balance the push for decarbonization with continued demand for their core fossil fuel products.
BP PLC (BP)
There is a real risk of shareholder backlash against Big Oil companies leaning too far into renewables. For example, activist investor Elliott Management has said BP has been poorly managed in recent years. Some say it delved too far into clean energy at the expense of its bread and butter, which is oil and gas. But that is changing, as the company has announced cuts to renewable energy investment and a boost to spending on oil and gas.
This is one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world. It is vertically integrated, meaning it explores for and extracts oil and gas, refines the commodities into petroleum products, and distributes and markets those products. It’s also involved in energy trading and power generation.
That size, business mix and geographic diversification lend the company stability, but also mean BP isn’t likely to grow as fast as a smaller exploration and production company could.
Chevron Corp. (CVX)
Warren Buffett may be retiring as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B), but his legacy as one of the world’s most famous investors is likely to live on and have an outsized influence on where people put their money.
Over the years, his company has amassed substantial holdings of oil and gas companies. As of Berkshire’s Nov. 14 13F filing, Chevron was Berkshire’s fifth-largest holding by percentage of its portfolio. With a stake of nearly 7%, Berkshire’s investment in Chevron made up 7.1% of the investment company’s portfolio.
[Read: 6 Best Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy]
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
This oil and gas exploration and production company isn’t far behind in the Oracle of Omaha’s investing strategy, coming in sixth place with 4.7% of Berkshire’s holdings. The investment company owns nearly 27% of OXY.
That can give regular investors a certain amount of confidence that other oil and gas companies without the backing of Berkshire might not generate.
In addition to drilling oil wells, Occidental also develops and manufactures chemical products. It has assets in the United States, including the prolific Permian Basin, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa. It also has a low-carbon subsidiary focused on reducing emissions.
Williams Cos. Inc. (WMB)
Rather than vertical integration, this company’s business model is as a midstream company focused on transporting natural gas. Experts expect natural gas will stick around as a transition fuel that is cleaner than coal but still contributes a significant amount of planet-warming gases.
Within the U.S., natural gas is often transported by pipeline, and Williams operates one of the largest pipeline networks in the nation. If you’re a believer in the long-term story of increasing natural gas demand from the data centers that crunch the numbers for artificial intelligence, then you may want this company in your portfolio.
But the extent to which AI expectations will come to fruition is hardly a sure thing.
“I am incredibly skeptical of the AI power demand story,” Berman says. “I think it is a bubble, with an almost perfect parallel to the shale boom of the early 2010s, which did not end well. At least for 2026, natural gas might have a good year, but I think people are probably too bullish about the next three years.”
Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG)
Within the natural gas space, a superchilled version of the fuel, or liquefied natural gas, has helped transform the industry into a global market.
That’s because natural gas in its liquid form is much easier and economical to transport by ship, opening up Asia and Europe to natural gas produced cheaply in the United States. The U.S. is the biggest natural gas-producing country in the world and has increased in importance as an exporter of LNG, especially as Europe tries to free itself from Russian energy amid the war in Ukraine.
Cheniere Energy has one of the largest natural gas liquefaction platforms in the world, with facilities in Louisiana and Texas.
SLB Ltd. (SLB)
This oilfield services company, formerly known as Schlumberger, is active in more than 100 nations, helping oil and gas companies run their operations. It is involved in drilling, well completion, reservoir mapping and pipelines, along with services and technology to help companies reduce emissions.
The company is also involved in the energy transition, with geothermal, hydrogen, energy storage, lithium and carbon capture operations.
Earlier this year, SLB completed the acquisition of ChampionX, adding the company’s production chemicals and artificial lift, digital and emissions technologies to SLB’s portfolio.
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7 Best Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy in 2026 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/29/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.