ExxonMobil in advanced talks for US$60 billion acquisition of Pioneer: sources
EXXONMOBIL is in advanced talks to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources in a deal that could value the Permian shale basin producer at about US$60 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday (Oct 6).
The acquisition would expand ExxonMobil’s footprint in one of the most lucrative areas of the US oil patch. Pioneer, with a market capitalisation of about US$50 billion, is the third-largest producer of oil in the Permian basin after Chevron and ConocoPhillips.
If the negotiations conclude successfully, an agreement could be reached in the coming days, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
Spokespeople for ExxonMobil and Pioneer declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday that a deal is imminent.
Pioneer was long seen as an attractive target for ExxonMobil as it has a significant presence in some of the most productive areas of the Permian shale basin.
ExxonMobil, which is valued at about US$436 billion, last year earned a record US$55.7 billion on sky-high oil and gas prices and ended the year with US$29.6 billion in cash and equivalents.
Some of those record profits have tapered off this year as commodity prices, which surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have fallen over concerns about future demand at a time when high inflation has weighed on consumer spending.
On Wednesday, ExxonMobil said big increases in oil, gas and fuel prices would deliver a third-quarter operating profit between US$8.3 billion and US$11.4 billion, below the year ago’s record earnings but up from its second quarter.
A deal for Pioneer would be ExxonMobil’s largest deal since its US$81-billion merger with Mobil in 1999. REUTERS
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