Bidness ETC - Exxon Mobil Ramps Up Production At New Indonesian Oil Field Despite Of Oversupplied Market

The output from the Banyu Urip field, part of ExxonMobil's Cepu block in East Java, is crucial to Indonesia's long-term efforts to meet rising domestic demand.

Exxon-Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has ramped up its production at a new Indonesian oil field, with a target to boost its output later this year by more than 200,000 barrels per day, just when the market is already oversupplied, despite the rise in oil prices for the past few weeks.

The output will originate from the Banyu Urip field, which is part of Exxon’s Cebu block in East Java. The move is seen as a long-term plan to tap into the country’s rising domestic demand, especially as other fields begin to age in the Southeast Asian country.

This is in contrast to ConocoPhillips’s, which has just laid off 300 out of 1200 Indonesians from the workforce, citing low oil prices and cost cutting measures. If Exxon is taking a long-term approach by looking at the future energy demand of the country and investing accordingly, which will probably result in a more oversupplied oil market, then why cannot ConocoPhillips?

Currently, the oilfield is producing over 75000 bpd during the end of last month. The oil field was discovered in 2001, and since its 15 years in operation, it has been going strong, though there has been lingering disagreements between the oil major and state company Pertamina, which consequently slowed the process of development.

Indonesia plans to boost its oil output from the current 800,000 bbl/day to around 830,000 bbl/day. Country has been struggling to boost its oil output ever since it has left OPEC, due to investors’ worries over corruption and bureaucracy. Traders say that they expect the first shipment of crude oil from the new oil field to commence around the third quarter, which is going to hurt the oil market even more with oil prices still tumbling downwards despite the rise in price for the past few weeks.

In separate news, Exxon Mobil has announced that the company has begun its bitumen production operation at the Cold Lake Nubile project in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Currently it is producing around 20,000 barrels per day, which is likely to increase up to 40000 barrels per day once the project operates in full stream. The project was planned and executed on behalf of ‘Imperial Oil Limited’, when it was first sanctioned in 2012.

The company is now looking forward to the output from Banyu Urip field, which is crucial to Indonesia's long-term efforts to meet rising domestic demand.

Exxon Mobil’s stock price ended the day at $87.49, a gain of 0.60% from the previous day.

Bidness Etc - Shares of Halliburton Sold By Traders on Showing Strength

Shares of the Halliburton were seen to be traded off as the share price increased on Wednesday, 18th March 2015

On Wednesday, 19th March 2015 Halliburton saw the trade inside the company’s stock index to have increased by a mile due the strength of the share price. According to a research note released by Analyst Rating News, it was observed that the company recorded an inflow of $75.26 million on the upticks of the stock exchange. As for the downticks that were recorded on the same day, the outflow was recorded at an amount of $113.35 million. The total money that was reported to have flown out of the company by end of the trading session was $38.09 million.

Halliburton Company was of the biggest companies to have experienced such a huge amount of money flowing out of the stock. Analyst Rating News analysts recorded that the company came around as being the 13th company on the list of companies which had the highest outflow of money for the day.

The oil field services company initiated the trade with a share price of$40.06 on the stock index. After being through a heated up trading session, the share price saw an increment in the share price by $1.31 reaching up to a price of $41.59, thus closing the day at a higher price and showing all the signs of strength. This change in the company’s share price has been marked as a very positive change keeping in mind the oil prices on a global level.

Quite a lot of financial firms have covered the stock of Halliburton Company and given different ratings and opinions on the company’s stock. Financial company Oppenheimer has analysts who have downgraded the share price of the oil field service providing company as previously the same firm granted the company a price target of $64.00 and now it has been lowered to an amount of $60.00. A rating of an ‘outperform’ has also been granted to the oil company. This research note was released on 12th March 2015. On the other hand, Vetr analysts have a completely different view on the stock activities of the company as they have increased the price target of the oil drilling company to $47.25 and have also improved their ratings on the firm from a ‘buy’ to a ‘strong buy’ now. This research on the company from Vetr analysts was made on 10th March 2015. BMO Capital analysts have also upgraded the ratings on the company in which they suggested an ‘outperform’ rating on the shares and gave a price target of $53.00, mentioning the details submitted in a research note on 18th February 2015.