Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM, the U.S. oil and gas major, recently announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gabonese government to explore deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas for potential oil and gas reserves. The company has only disclosed the signing of the MoU, without providing additional details about the agreement.
The MoU signifies the U.S. energy company’s increasing footprint in Africa. ExxonMobil already has a presence in several countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Mozambique and Angola. XOM was previously active in Gabon as well. In 2006, the company made a hydrocarbon discovery in collaboration with Chevron Corporation in Gabon. However, at present, it does not hold any exploratory acreage in the country.
Gabon is currently struggling with declining production levels, and the government is actively trying to reverse this trend. Per S&P Global Commodity Insights, the country’s crude production has reportedly decreased from its peak levels of 370,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in 1997 to 240,000 bbl/day in August 2025. The MoU signed with the government of Gabon indicates the possible return of ExxonMobil to this country, focusing on the discovery of new resources to aid Gabon's crude production goals.
On a different note, ExxonMobil is due to release its third-quarter results on Oct. 31, 2025, before market open.
XOM’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks
XOM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some top-ranked stocks from the energy sector are Cheniere Energy Inc. LNG, Bloom Energy Corporation BE and Archrock Inc. AROC. Cheniere Energy and Bloom Energy each sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, while Archrock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Cheniere Energy is involved in LNG-related businesses, which include LNG terminals and natural gas marketing. The company has achieved a milestone with the first production from the first LNG train of its Corpus Christi Stage 3 Liquefaction Project. The project, which includes seven midscale LNG trains, aims to expand the production capacity of the Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility. This expansion is expected to strengthen Cheniere's position in the rapidly growing global LNG market, enabling it to meet the rising demand for LNG both in the United States and internationally.
Bloom Energy manufactures one of the most advanced and versatile fuel cell energy platforms. The company has two key offerings, the Bloom Energy Server for electricity generation and the Bloom Electrolyzer for hydrogen production. The Energy Server system provides sustainable and reliable power solutions for both commercial and utility customers. Bloom Energy is anticipated to benefit from rising demand for reliable and clean power, fueled by the growth of data centers, crypto-mining facilities and the re-shoring of manufacturing in key sectors in the United States, such as semiconductors.
Archrock is an energy infrastructure company based in the United States with a focus on midstream natural gas compression. It provides natural gas contract compression services and generates stable fee-based revenues. With natural gas playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition journey, AROC is expected to witness sustained demand for its services.
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