ExxonMobil's Permian Push: Leveraging Technology for Production Growth

Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM, a U.S. oil and gas giant, generates a significant portion of its revenues from exploration and production activities. The company is advancing major oil projects in two key regions – the Permian Basin and offshore oil and gas resources in Guyana. In the Permian Basin, the company holds the largest supply of Tier 1 acreage within its asset portfolio.  

On its latest earnings call, the company mentioned several developments aimed at increasing production from the Permian Basin — one of the most prolific shale basins in the United States. With the implementation of newer technologies, XOM has stated that the total recoverable resources in the Permian have increased from 16 billion to 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

Furthermore, the company has been working on the development of a new lightweight, low-cost proppant, which can be produced using petroleum coke from its refineries.  According to XOM, the proppant has improved the efficiency of the hydraulic fracturing process and recovery rates. Notably, the proppant has been effective in keeping rock fractures open, allowing the company to extract more hydrocarbons from its wells.

XOM is leveraging innovation and technology to improve production from the Permian Basin. XOM plans to increase Permian production volumes from 1.6 million boe to 2.3 million boe by 2030. ExxonMobil’s strong footprint in the Permian Basin, combined with the use of newer technologies, is expected to sustain production growth and generate long-term value. 

ConocoPhillips and EOG Resources’ Low-Cost Production Profile

ConocoPhillips COP and EOG Resources, Inc. EOG are two other energy firms that boast a significant resource base in the shale basins of the United States.

ConocoPhillips is involved in the exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas liquids, bitumen and natural gas. The company boasts a strong asset base in the shale basins of the United States, including the Delaware Basin, Midland Basin, Eagle Ford, and Bakken shale. These assets support low-cost production, which enables ConocoPhillips to maintain its profitability and generate free cash flow even during periods of low oil prices.

EOG Resources is a leading independent exploration and production company with operations focused on the prolific acres in the United States as well as several resource-rich international basins. EOG boasts a high-return, low-decline asset base and stands out among the low-cost producers in the United States. The company’s focus on maintaining a resilient balance sheet and lowering production costs should enable it to withstand oil price volatility.

XOM’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of ExxonMobil have plunged 1.2% over the past year against the 1.5% improvement of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

From a valuation standpoint, XOM trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 7.31X. This is above the broader industry average of 4.3X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for XOM’s 2025 earnings has not seen any revision over the past seven days.

XOM, COP and EOG currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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