The short interest data from the June 13 settlement date is out, and there were some rather large changes in the numbers of shares short in the big oil stocks — some very large gains and some very large drops. Still, an elevated short interest trend remains in place in the industry. Crude oil was closer to $100 in mid-May, but now it is back above $106 due to geopolitical concerns in Iraq.

24/7 Wall St. has looked at the top oil and gas companies and seen some significant changes made in the short interest in the sector. We have compared the June 13 settlement date to the May 30 settlement date, and we have added color if applicable. Keep in mind, just as with the short interest spike in defensive dividend stocks, that investors are short the dividend as well. Big Oil has some high dividends that have to be covered by short sellers.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) may seem like it has a low short interest on the surface, but there was a big jump in June: up a sharp 17.6% to 4,642,201 shares short as of June 13 from 3,946,837 as of May 30. Remember that short sellers have to pay that 4.6% dividend yield, which is higher than most oil and gas companies by far. BP has a high 4.4% dividend yield in the latest screen.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest drop by 6.1%, which makes up for the 8% gain in the short interest at the previous report. This was 17,423,499 shares short at the June 13 date, versus 18,546,277 shares short as of May 30. This was still elevated for 2014. Chevron’s dividend yield is 3.2%. Chevron is one of the 10 stocks we see taking the DJIA to 20,000.

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ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw its short interest rise again by 8.0%, after a rise of about 5% in the prior report. The June 13 settlement date showed a short interest of 24,701,287 shares, versus 22,875,838 shares at the end of May. This makes it the highest short interest reading of 2014, yet again. ConocoPhillips also has a 3.2% dividend yield, and the company has pledged that will go higher.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) made up for the drop at the end of May (a 4.1% decline last time) with a short interest jump of 7.2%. That put the short interest at 51,662,074 shares as of the June 13 settlement date, compared with the 48,203,756 shares short as of May 30. Exxon Mobil’s short interest remains elevated compared to 2013. Exxon’s dividend yield is 2.7%, which is high for a DJIA stock but not screaming-high against other oil giants. Exxon Mobil is also one of the ten stocks that will take the DJIA to 20,000.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) is often forgotten about among the major oil companies, even though it has a market cap of around $80 billion. Occidental’s short interest posted a big gain in the first half of June. It was up a sharp 18.8% to 9,548,153 shares, versus 8,036,426 shares as of the end of May. Its short interest was already elevated in 2014 versus 2013. Occidental’s dividend yield is roughly 2.8%.

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Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, saw a 5% drop in the end-of-May short interest, and it fell by another 3.2% to mid-June. That puts the June 13 short interest at 31,308,826 shares, versus 32,351,350 shares short as of May 30. Short sellers likely kept exiting after the stock bounced about 50% from its bottom in March. Petrobras has sporadic dividends, due in part to its crazy capital structure that generally leaves the least income remaining for its common shareholders.

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