How Will High Oil Prices Aid ExxonMobil's Energy Business?

The price of West Texas Intermediate (“WTI”) crude is trading at more than the $100-per-barrel mark. The high prices are being driven by ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) in its latest short-term energy outlook projected WTI at $85.68 per barrel this year, higher than $65.40 last year. A highly favorable pricing environment for the commodity is likely to continue supporting Exxon Mobil Corporation’s XOM exploration and production activities, which derive the majority of its earnings.To provide a glimpse of the upstream assets, the company has a massive footprint in the Permian, the most prolific oil and gas play in the United States, and offshore Guyana. In the Permian, the integrated giant has been employing lightweight proppant technology and hence is capable of boosting its well recoveries by up to as much as 20%. On the first-quarter earnings call, XOM mentioned that it is staying aligned with its plan of growing its production in the most prolific basin to 1.8 million oil equivalent barrels this year.In Guyana, XOM has made several oil and gas discoveries, further highlighting its solid production outlook. Record production from both resources has been aiding its top and bottom lines. In both resources, the breakeven costs are low.Will CVX & COP Also Gain From High Oil?Like XOM, Chevron Corporation CVX and ConocoPhillips COP will benefit from the ongoing strength in oil prices. Let’s delve a little deeper.With COP generating a significant proportion of revenues from crude oil, the high price of the commodity is extremely favorable for the leading oil and gas exploration and production company, much like other energy giants such as XOM and CVX.The upstream energy giant also has low-cost drilling opportunities across Permian, Eagle Ford and Bakken that could be successfully developed over two decades. Thus, the outlook for ConocoPhillips’ upstream operations looks bright.Chevron, on the other hand, has been witnessing a growth in production volumes, thanks to its footprint in the Permian – the most prolific basin in the United States. CVX is thus well-poised to gain from prevailing high oil prices.XOM’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of XOM have gained 41.2% over the past year, in line with the industry’s growth. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, XOM trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 10.10X. This is above the broader industry average of 6.59X. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for XOM’s 2026 earnings has seen upward revisions over the past seven days. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchExxonMobil currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks