ExxonMobil Adds To Harvey Relief Funds, Gives A Total Of $1M

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) recently announced plans to donate more funds for Harvey relief support.

The tropical cyclone has been responsible for heavy downpour in the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast regions. Thousands of people have been reallocated as water levels continue to rise. Harvey has claimed a number of lives while a few are injured.

On Aug 25, ExxonMobil announced contribution of $500,000 to the American Red Cross. Now, the integrated energy player plans to donate an additional $500,000 to the United Way of Greater Houston. With this, the total contribution from the company stands at $1 million.

Investors should also know that the storm had severely impaired the refining business of ExxonMobil. As per media resources, the company has been forced to shut down all the plants at its Beaumont, TX refinery, which has a daily processing capacity of 365,000 barrels of oil.

In fact, the Beaumont refinery has released hazardous pollutants like benzene as the heavy rain damaged one storage tank, according to the company’s filings with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Pasadena Terminal of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) has also been reported to release pollutants in the air.

Irving, TX-based ExxonMobil is the world’s best run integrated oil company based on its track record of high return on capital employed. As the largest publicly traded oil company, ExxonMobil has long been a core holding for investors seeking defensive as well as continued dividend growth.

Despite these, the company’s pricing performance history is unimpressive. Year to date, ExxonMobil lost 15.3%, underperforming the industry’s 6.2% decline.

As a result, ExxonMobil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Meanwhile, a few better-ranked players in the energy sector are Transmontaigne Partners LP (NYSE:TLP) and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) . Both the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Transmontaigne – headquartered in Denver, CO – is involved in the transportation and storing of refined petroleum products. The firm recorded an average positive earnings surprise of 6.60% over the last four quarters.

Based in Fort Worth, TX, Range Resources is an independent oil and gas company, engaged in the exploration, development and acquisition of U.S. oil and gas resources. The company’s 2017 revenues are expected to grow 122.8%.

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