ExxonMobil announced Tuesday that it will more than double its resources in Permian Basin to 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The company plans to acquire companies owned by the Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas, with an estimated resource of 3.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in New Mexico’s Delaware Basin, 'a highly prolific, oil-prone section of the Permian Basin,' ExxonMobil said.
Under the terms of the deal, ExxonMobil will make an upfront payment of $5.6 billion in ExxonMobil shares and a series of additional contingent cash payments totaling up to $1 billion.
Payments will begin in 2020 and end no later than 2032, the company said.
'This acquisition strengthens ExxonMobil's significant presence in the dominant U.S. growth area for onshore oil production,' said Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer.
ExxonMobil expects to drill the longest lateral wells in the Permian Basin, reducing development costs and increasing reserve capture, by utilizing the company's technological strength coupled with its unconventional development capabilities.
ExxonMobil is producing approximately 140,000 net oil-equivalent barrels per day across its Permian Basin leasehold, the company said.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
zeynep.karabay@aa.com.tr