By Nick Pope
America’s largest oil company could be on the cusp of a major deal to acquire a smaller company and its key assets in a fuel-rich region of Texas and New Mexico, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Exxon Mobil is reportedly closing in on a $60 billion deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources that could reshape the American oil and gas industry, according to the WSJ. The blockbuster deal could be completed at some point in the coming days, but there remains a possibility that the two sides could walk away from the table, the WSJ reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the talks.
The Pioneer deal would be Exxon’s largest, most significant business maneuver since it acquired Mobil in 1999, the WSJ reported. Pioneer is an attractive acquisition target for Exxon because a takeover would afford Exxon a dominant position in the Permian Basin, a region rich in oil and natural gas deposits spanning parts of Western Texas and New Mexico.
The Permian Basin provides approximately 40% of American oil production and about 15% of its natural gas, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Pioneer owns one of the most robust portfolios of untapped extraction areas in the Permian Basin, the WSJ reported.
“We do not comment on market rumors,” an Exxon spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Preliminary discussions about a potential deal began as early as April of this year, according to the WSJ.
A finalized deal could prompt a flurry of mergers in the natural gas industry, according to the WSJ. Drilling for new oil deposit discoveries is no longer a very popular model with investors, a reality that has left many firms with little choice other than to purchase rival companies to extend their runways.
Pioneer Natural Resources did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
