Unlike many of its Big Oil competitors, ExxonMobil has been doubling down on natural gas and oil production, which some say is a gamble on the future of the industry, Barron’s reports.
Citing estimates of rising oil demand over the next decade, the company is planning to increase its energy output by 25% and more than double its earnings by 2025.
Though Exxon’s shine has faded over the years after missed production goals and underwhelming financial results, supporters of the company say it still can find and develop enormous, profitable energy deposits.
“We think Exxon’s investment opportunities are world-class and that the best time to invest is when everyone else is retrenching,” says Manoj Tandon, director of research and portfolio manager at Pzena Investment Management in New York, which holds Exxon shares.
The company’s opportunities lie in deepwater of the coast of South America, natural gas fields in Africa and Papua New Guinea, and oil and natural gas in the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico. Exxon officials said earlier this year the company’s Baton Rouge operations should benefit from plans to increase production the Permian Basin.
