ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is believed to have encountered large deposits of oil and gas in a recently drilled appraisal well, offshore the South American county of Guyana.
The Energy Minister mentioned that the company is expected to drill another well in upcoming months. Per officials, ExxonMobil had already drilled a well last year, which is estimated to hold about 700 million barrels of oil.
The company's drill site is located about 150 miles away from Guyana's east coast. Other companies having exploration interest in the area include British petroleum giant Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) PLC and Repsol (MC:REP) of Spain.
ExxonMobil is the world’s best run integrated oil company based in terms of high return on capital employed. As the largest publicly traded oil company, ExxonMobil has long been a core holding for investors seeking a defensive as well as continued dividend growth.
Exxon’s strength lies in its balanced operations, strong financial flexibility and continuous efficiency and cost control. The company’s efforts to build an unconventional resource portfolio both in North America and overseas reflect its aim to increase production through higher exposure to large energy resources with long reserve life and low field declines. Despite the plunge in natural gas prices, Exxon expects unconventional gas to play a dominant role in the future supplies owing to the rapid decline in conventional production. The company possesses more than 8 million unconventional acres in North America.
ExxonMobil holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players from the energy sector are Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE:BWP) , FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF) and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) . Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
BOARDWALK PIPLN (BWP): Free Stock Analysis Report
EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report
RENESOLA LT-ADR (SOL): Free Stock Analysis Report
FUTUREFUEL CORP (FF): Free Stock Analysis Report
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