Saturday, January 23, 2016

ExxonMobil: Several Things Investors Need to Know

Summary

Where its strength - as measured against its peers - gives it some strong potential.

Refining will struggle to maintain recent past performance.

Running leaner should help the company long term.

Credit rating and rising cost of capital could be a risk further out.

Could political correctness over "climate change" take down Exxon Mobil?

Being one of the largest companies in the world and operating in a politically incorrect industry has made Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) a target of many special interest groups and ambitious politicians, hoping to raise money for their cause or secure the next term in office.

Add to that the challenge of an unprecedented low-price oil and gas environment, and it definitely testing the foundations of the company as it takes a number of hits from different sources, while at the same time attempting to keep the company moving forward.

more info on ExxonMobil info investors should know

Timing of Iran's Oil Exports Not as Important as Some Think

Summary

Projected increase in demand versus ongoing supply.

Beware of temptation to time the oil market.

Some considerations on what to look for.

Dollar cost averaging versus lump sum investing.


Now that the price of oil has plummeted to under $31 per barrel as I write, it's worth taking a look at whether or not it's getting close to consider seriously investing in the commodity, or continue to wait on the sidelines; including whether to initiate a position or add to a position.

Most of the decision should be based on whether or not investors believe it's at least close to a bottom, or at minimum, a price range that reflects being near to a low.

Since I'm not a believer in timing the market, looking at a price range is the best way to analyze where the price of oil is at. The challenge is we're in uncharted territory. Not because we haven't seen significant price fluctuations in oil before, but because we have never seen it after the emergence of shale oil as a significant supplier.

more on Iran's oil exports

Saudi Aramco: What Type of Returns?

Summary

Largest IPO in history may be on the horizon.

Saudi Arabia looking for revenue alternatives.

Even a small part of Saudi Aramco would be huge.


A number of variables would determine its attraction to investors, including the stock exchange or exchanges it would be listed on.

What this confirms about the oil market and the price of oil. In a recent interview with 'The Economist,' Saudi Arabian deputy crown prince Muhammad bin Salman said one of the things he's taking into consideration as a way to relieve the financial burden on the government from an expected prolonged period of low oil prices, is to go the IPO route with state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco.

Not only is it the most valuable oil or energy company in the world, it's probably the valuable company in the world too.

Go here for more on investing in Saudi Aramco

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Oil Price: 2016 won't be good to it



There are a lot of moving pieces with the price of oil, but the bottom line is supply and demand is still the major catalyst for the price movement, and oversupply will continue to be the story throughout 2016, and probably further out.

No matter what type of ancillary stories are published in the financial news, investors should almost solely focus on the supply/demand trend.

I say solely because there are other factors when diving deeper into individual companies. But when looking at where the price of oil is going, the supply and demand equation is by far the most important piece of the price puzzle.

My point is we need to keep from being distracted by other data thrown into the mix. It will have some importance, especially as it relates to certain companies, but it won't have much of an impact - if any - on oil prices.

Not only is the market going to continue to supply more than demand, but supply is going to rise even more with the introduction of Iranian oil into the export market. That will happen fairly soon. The goal of Iran is to boost supply by at least 1 million barrels a day. It hopes to do that by the end of 2016. That may be a stretch, but there is no doubt it'll significantly increase the supply of oil in 2016.

Demand will not be able to keep up with it. It already was going to be difficult to match the oversupply already in the market. Adding Iranian and other oil like that in Indonesia and probably Libya, will continue to make things worse.


More on the 2016 oil price outlook