EOG Resources (EOG) Banks On Gaut's Expertise For Growth

Upstream energy player EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) has appointed C. Christopher Gaut to its board of directors. The appointment is set to be effective from Oct 1, 2017.

From 2010 to May 2017, Gaut was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Forum Energy Technologies, Inc (NYSE:FET) . Notably, Forum Energy is a manufacturer of oilfield products that are used for drilling oil and natural gas fields and also for extracting those commodities.

Gaut is still serving Forum Energy as Executive Chairman. Also, Gaut is a director at Key Energy Services, Inc and Ensco (NYSE:ESV) .

EOG Resources’ management believes that Gaut’s extensive years of experience in oilfield services will benefit the company. Meanwhile, oil price has crossed the $50-per-barrel mark again on expectations that OPEC will extend its production cut deal. This has made the business scenario favorable for exploration and production players as crude price has recovered significantly from the historical lows of February 2016.

Houston, TX-based EOG Resources holds premium acreages in three prospective oil plays in the U.S. — the Permian, Bakken and Eagle Ford shale plays. The company’s plans to drill numerous premium wells in 10 years and its strong emphasis on reducing costs have led to an encouraging outlook.

However, excessive dependence on the North American shale plays and rising long-term debt over the last two years raise concerns. Also, the company, belonging to the Zacks Oil Exploration industry, lost 7.2% year to date.

EOG Resources currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that the stock will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

A better-ranked player in the energy sector is TransCanada Corporation (TO:TRP) , with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, TransCanada is a midstream energy firm in North America. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 4.06% over the last four quarters.

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