The much-anticipated acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by ExxonMobil became official Wednesday when the two companies announced a $64.5 billion stock deal (including debt) that more than doubles Exxon’s footprint in Permian Basin. The merger, Exxon’s largest since acquiring Mobil for $73.7 billion in 1999, adds Pioneer’s 850,000 net acres in Midland Basin to Exxon’s 570,000 net acres in Delaware and Midland basins to create “the industry’s leading high-quality undeveloped U.S. unconventional inventory position” that will hold an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Permian Basin. At closing in 2024 Exxon’s Permian production will more than double to 1.3 million boed based on 2023 volumes. It’s expected to increase to 2 million boed in 2027.
Pioneer is the largest independent producer in Permian Basin, and Tortoise portfolio manager Rob Thummel told Oil & Gas Journal its acreage position is “highly coveted given its low drilling cost and its size.”