Obsidian Energy or the company that came before it has gone through an abundance of changes over recent years. There is a good chance that the company will evolve even more in the near future. It is currently traded publicly under the ticker OBE. When you take a look at its stock, you will see that the company hasn’t performed well during the past few years. Within this article, you’re going to learn all about this Canadian oil and natural gas production company.
It is only a matter of time before you find out how well the oil company did during the last quarter
Company History
First and foremost, you should know that Obsidian Energy was not always known by that name. Originally, the company was called Penn West Energy. The company was originally founded in Calgary in 1979. The publicly traded company now employs roughly 300 people. While it is headquartered in Calgary, it has oil and gas wells strategically placed throughout western Canada.
The Downfall
Unfortunately, Obsidian Energy has gone through some rough times. This is pretty common for oil and gas companies during recent years. For a brief period of time, the company was actually one of the largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In January of 2008, it reached a peak market cap of $9.5 billion. Suffice to say, the company was huge. Today, it is must smaller and it is struggling to generate a revenue.
This is why many investors have decided to stay away from it. Some suggest that it would safer to obtain a no deposit bonus and gamble all of your money on a game of cards. Nevertheless, Obsidian Energy still has value and this why many investors continue hanging on.
2014
Unfortunately, the company went through tough times around 2014. It wasn’t alone. The price of crude oil dropped significantly. This resulted in many companies filing for bankruptcy. Penn West managed to weather the storm. Then, it became known as Obsidian Energy. This was completed after the company went through a major restructuring. Simultaneously, it was forced to sell many assets to reduce debt. Nevertheless, the company survived.
Now, investors hope that current President and CEO David French will be able to right the ship. So far under his leadership, it doesn’t appear that he is going to be able to succeed. The company changed its name from Penn West Petroleum to Obsidian Energy in June of 2017.
The Fields
Now, it is time to learn about the assets owned and controlled by Obsidian. Again, this is an oil and gas company. You should know that the company’s oil and gas fields can be found in Alberta. They are found along the Canadian Sedimentary Basic. This region is believed to be one of the world’s biggest petroleum reserves. At this point, the majority of production comes from three areas. They include the Peace River oil sands, the Alberta Viking, and the Pembina Cardium.
In 2017, the company estimated that it would be averaging 31,000 bbl per day. That is impressive but it hasn’t been enough to right the ship just yet.
Current Stock Details
It has been a turbulent time for Obsidian Energy stockholders. Unfortunately, the stock went through a reverse split and this diminished the value for holders. Simultaneously, the stock was on the verge of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange at one point. However, things have become a little better for OBE during recent months. For starters, the company just recently regained NYSE compliance. This is a good thing and it should help stabilize the price for some time.
Nevertheless, the stock price has dropped a lot. It has a 52-week high of 7.56 and a 52-week low of .89 cents. At this point in time, the price is hovering right around 1.00. If the company is able to put together a nice earnings report, the price could soar pretty high.
Looking Ahead
It is believed that Obsidian should release earnings sometime this month. A date for the release has not been set. So, what could possibly happen? Well, it is indeed true that oil prices have climbed a lot during recent months. This could be a good thing for OBE. However, the Canadian oil industry is much different and it may not have much of an impact. It is only a matter of time before you find out how well the company did during the last quarter.
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