Exxon Mobil shares close lower on Monday, company pulls out of LNG project in Pakistan

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) was reported to have exited a major liquefied natural gas project in Pakistan. Exxon’s decision came as a result of ”issues with partners”, and more specifically Turkish developer Global Energy Infrastructure Limited (GEIL), according to Reuters. While citing government officials and industry sources, the same media also reported that emerging differences between the six-member group behind the Port Qasim project could urge French oil major Total and Japans Mitsubishi to pull out as well and join a rival project.

Exxon Mobil shares closed lower for the second time in the past seven trading sessions on Monday. The stock edged down 0.20% ($0.17) to $83.54, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $83.94 and $83.41 respectively.

In the week ended on October 29th the shares of the energy company added 0.72% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a third consecutive period of gains.

The stock has pared its advance to 1.90% so far during the current month, following a 7.40% surge in September. The latter has been the best monthly performance since October 2015.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed energy giant gained 15.79%. On the other hand, the stock has retreated 7.45% so far in 2017.

Such a development of events may also put in doubt a multi-billion-dollar agreement between Qatar and GEIL, which involves the sale of 2.3 billion metric tons of liquefied natural gas per annum over a period of 20 years.

Because of disagreements among members behind the LNG project at Port Qasim, near Karachi, the chances of its success are now seen as no greater than 10% to 20%, Reuters reported, citing a senior Pakistani government official.

The Port Qasim LNG project is set to become the largest one in Pakistan in terms of import capacity. Due to its sophisticated pipeline grid, extensive industrial demand and the third-largest natural gas-powered vehicle fleet in Asia, Pakistan is considered as an ”easy fit” for LNG initiatives. Official estimates point that LNG imports could surge fivefold to reach 30 million tonnes per year by 2022.

According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Exxon Mobil’s stock price, have a median target of $83.00, with a high estimate of $100.00 and a low estimate of $70.00. The median estimate is a 0.65% decrease compared to the closing price of $83.54 on October 30th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 28 surveyed investment analysts had rated Exxon Mobil’s stock as “Hold”, while 8 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 6 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Exxon Mobil stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $83.59
R2 – $83.64
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $83.69
R4 (Long Breakout) – $83.83
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $84.00
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $84.07

S1 – $83.49
S2 – $83.44
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $83.39
S4 (Short Breakout) – $83.25
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $83.08
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $83.01

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $83.32
R1 – $84.63
R2 – $85.55
R3 – $86.86
R4 – $88.17

S1 – $82.40
S2 – $81.09
S3 – $80.17
S4 – $79.25