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Imperial (IMO), XOM to Sell Canadian Shale Assets for C$1.9B

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Imperial Oil (IMO - Free Report) , together with ExxonMobil (XOM - Free Report) , recently announced the plan to sell XTO Energy Canada, which is jointly owned by Imperial and ExxonMobil, for a cash consideration worth C$1.9 billion to the Canadian public oil company – Whitecap Resources.

Per Imperial, C$940 million is its share of the proceeds from the sale.

The sale marks an end to the marketing effort declared in January 2022 and is aligned with the Canadian integrated oil company’s model to focus upstream resources on crucial oil sands assets and the firm’s commitment to providing long-term value for stakeholders.

Both IMO and XOM are equal partners in XTO Energy, with assets comprising 567,000 net acres in the Montney shale, 72,000 net acres in the Duvernay shale and further acreage in other regions of the Canadian province of Alberta. Moreover, the net output from these assets is roughly 140 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and approximately 9,000 barrels of crude, condensate and natural gas liquids per day.

The sale is anticipated to be closed before the end of this year’s third quarter, subject to regulatory clearances.

Founded in 1880, Calgary-based Imperial Oil Limited is one of the largest integrated oil companies of Canada, mainly engaged in oil and gas production, petroleum products refining and marketing and chemical business.  

Investors should know that Imperial Oil is the subsidiary of one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company — ExxonMobil — which holds a 69.6% ownership stake.

Imperial Oil currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Some other similar-ranked stocks from the energy sector include Matador Resources (MTDR - Free Report) and Berry (BRY - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Matador’s 2022 earnings is projected at $10.97 per share, up about 158.1% from the projected year-ago earnings of $4.25.

MTDR beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 25.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Berry’s 2022 earnings has been revised 70% upward over the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRY’s 2022 earnings is projected at $3.67 per share, up about 1368% from the projected year-ago earnings of 25 cents.

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