Over the past two years, electric vehicle and emerging renewable technology stocks have soared as investors priced in the transition away from fossil fuels, but so far in 2021 that narrative has reversed.

By the numbers: XOP, an ETF that tracks the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, has gained nearly 40% so far this year as oil producers like Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum have seen their shares jump by more than 50%.

The VC arms of Chevron and BP are funding Eavor, a startup looking to commercialize a form of geothermal energy that it says can provide large-scale power in many regions worldwide.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign of momentum and investor interest behind technology that could significantly scale up geothermal.

The effects of President Biden's restrictions on oil-and-gas leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters will be limited in the near term, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

Driving the news: IEA's monthly oil market report says it doesn't see a "material impact on U.S. production in the short term."

Oil demand is slated for a large bounce-back from the pandemic that will tighten the market a lot, but it's going to take a while, the International Energy Agency said.

Why it matters: "The rebalancing of the oil market remains fragile in the early part of 2021 as measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, with its more contagious variants, weigh heavily on the near-term recovery in global oil demand," IEA said in its monthly oil market analysis today.

Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday that its oil production peaked in 2019 and is expected to decline by roughly 1%-2% annually as the company diversifies into lower-carbon energy products and business lines.

Why it matters: It signals how some of the world's most powerful oil-and-gas companies are positioning themselves for a world taking climate change more seriously and responding to calls from investors and activists to do more.

The huge multinational oil-and-gas company Total on Tuesday unveiled new information about its diversification efforts — and the company's changing its name too.

Driving the news: Total said over 20% of its expected $12.1 billion in net spending in 2021 will be devoted to renewables and other electricity-related investments.

Exxon on Tuesday announced a roughly $20 billion dollar quarterly loss, signaling the latest challenges for the company that has now posted losses in the last four quarters.

Driving the news: The company's Q4 result stemmed from over $19 billion in write-downs on the value of its assets. But excluding the impairments, Exxon posted a small profit of 3 cents per share, and its stock ticked up slightly this morning.

There's a lot of drama swirling around Exxon these days, which means their fourth quarter earnings report Tuesday will be even more closely watched than usual.

Driving the news: On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal and then Reuters reported that the CEOs of Exxon and Chevron last year discussed a blockbuster merger between companies whose combined market cap is currently over $350 billion.

Chevron posted another quarterly loss Friday in the latest sign of how the pandemic is still weighing on oil companies despite some price recovery during the second half of the year.

Driving the news: The oil giant reported a $665 million loss for the October-December period, but it shrinks to $11 million on an adjusted basis after considering charges on its acquisition of Noble Energy and "foreign currency effects."

ExxonMobil, under pressure to boost financial performance and do more on climate change, says it's on the cusp of changes.

Driving the news: The oil giant said Wednesday it would soon update shareholders on plans to "build long-term, sustainable value," and new steps to commercialize tech that's "key to reducing emissions."