The U.S.' two largest oil producing firms, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are planning to raise their crude production over the next five years, the companies announced in separate statements on Tuesday.
ExxonMobil said it revised its oil production growth in the U.S.' Permian basin to more than 1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day by as early as 2024 - an increase of nearly 80 percent.
The company has nearly 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels of resources in the oil-rich basin located in west Texas and in southeast New Mexico.
'We’re increasingly confident about our Permian growth strategy due to our unique development plans,' said Neil Chapman, ExxonMobil senior vice president, said in the statement.
'Our plans are attractive at a range of prices and we expect them to drive more value as we continue to lower our development and production costs,' he added.
ExxonMobil said investments in the Permian basin are expected to have an average return of more than 10 percent even with oil prices as low as $35 per barrel.
The firm said it plans to increase its rig count to around 55 by the end of this year from the current 48 operating drilling rigs in the Permian basin.
The company also has infrastructure plans for the construction of 30 oil and natural gas sites for processing and additional capacity.
The planned facilities foresee the handling of up to 600,000 barrels of oil and 1 billion cubic feet (28.32 million cubic meters) of gas per day.
- Chevron
American oil major Chevron said it plans to increase its unconventional oil production in the Permian basin to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2020, and to 900,000 bpd by the end of 2023.
The company has added almost 7 billion barrels of resource and doubled its portfolio value over the past two years in the Permian basin.
The company said it has a capital and exploratory program with an annual target of $19 - $22 billion from 2021 to 2023.
'We’ve refocused our investment priorities, and expect 70 percent of this year’s spend to deliver cash flow within two years,' Chevron Chairman and CEO Michael Wirth said in a statement.
It expects approximately $30 billion of cash generation in 2019 if international benchmark Brent oil price averages $60 per barrel, the firm said.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr