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ExxonMobil Boosts Capacity at Newport Elastomers' Plant

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Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) recently announced the completion of the expansion of its specialty elastomers manufacturing facility located in Newport, Wales. The expansion is not only anticipated to double the manufacturing capacity of the unit, but also increase global Santoprene thermoplastic elastomers’ production by 25%.

Notably, Santoprene thermoplastic elastomers belong to the polymer family. These high-quality elastomers make consumer and automotive products lighter, increasing performance and fuel efficiency. The usage of these synthetic rubber-like material can reduce shipping weights and lead to improvement in sustainable manufacturing.

Increasing production of these high-demand thermoplastic elastomers will boost the Chemical segment’s profits. The company has another Santoprene manufacturing facility in Pensacola, FL.

The expansion project generated 35 full-time jobs and created 130 jobs during the construction phase. The completion report of the Newport plant’s expansion comes after the company’s announcement of Fawley refinery expansion. During the end of last month, ExxonMobil announced its final investment decision to expand the Fawley refinery in the United Kingdom, which will enable the company to boost ultra-lowsulfurdiesel production by around 45%.

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly-traded energy company, has lost 7.5% in the past year compared with 15.8% collective decline of the industry it belongs to.

 

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space include Hess Corp. (HES - Free Report) , Cactus, Inc. (WHD - Free Report) and USA Compression Partners, LP (USAC - Free Report) . While Hess sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Cactus and USA Compression hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  

Hess’ earnings are expected to grow more than 115% through 2019.

Cactus’ earnings growth is projected at 11.8% through 2019.

USA Compression’s earnings growth is projected at 97.7% through 2019.

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