Imperial Oil invests to diversify revenue

Article Excerpt

Improving crude prices are letting Imperial Oil invest in new green energy projects that will help it comply with more-stringent environmental regulations. The company is also using its strong cash flow to reward investors. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $70 is a buy. This company (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative and Income Growth Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 584.2 million; Market cap: $40.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) gets about 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta. Imperial also has conventional oil and natural gas operations in the West and holds stakes in projects off the coast of Atlantic Canada. Imperial’s other operations include three refineries (one in Alberta and two in Ontario) and a petrochemical plant in Sarnia, Ontario. ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM) owns 69.6% of Imperial’s shares. The company recently announced that it will build a “renewable” diesel fuel complex at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. Renewable diesel is a biofuel produced from wood, crops and vegetable oils…