American energy company ExxonMobil is reportedly planning to sell certain upstream assets in the Permian Basin in the US in a move to focus on higher-growth assets.
The sale could fetch $1bn, reported Bloomberg Law.
This move is part of the company’s broader strategy to pivot towards higher-growth areas within the energy sector.
ExxonMobil’s planned divestment involves a range of conventional oil and gas properties situated in West Texas and New Mexico. The company is offering 14 groups of assets for sale.
Of these, eight are currently operated by ExxonMobil, while the remaining six represent stakes in non-operated assets, as outlined in a company prospectus. Reuters first reported on the forthcoming sale in June.
This decision reflects ExxonMobil’s ongoing approach to regularly assess and optimise its asset portfolio. The company has reiterated its commitment to this strategy, stating that the proposed sale of these conventional oil assets in the two regions is in line with its plan to continuously evaluate and adjust its holdings.
In May 2024, ExxonMobil finalised its $64.5bn all-stock deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources, an operator in the Permian shale basin.
The merger combined Pioneer Natural Resources’ extensive holdings of over 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin with ExxonMobil’s existing 570,000 net acres in the Delaware and Midland Basins. This consolidation has resulted in a combined resource base estimated at 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent within the Permian Basin.
In its latest financial update, ExxonMobil reported Q2 2024 earnings amounting to $9.2bn, or $2.14 per diluted share. The merger with Pioneer Natural Resources, which was completed five months ahead of similar transactions, added $500m to the company’s earnings during the first two months following the merger’s closure.
Year-to-date earnings for ExxonMobil’s upstream segment reached $12.7bn, marking an increase of $1.7bn compared to the same period in 2023.
The previous year’s figures were affected by tax-related items. Excluding these items, the company’s earnings grew by $1.5bn, driven by increased production from high-performing assets, including record output from Guyana, the Permian Basin, and Pioneer Natural Resources.
ExxonMobil’s year-to-date net production rose to 4.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, a 9% increase, or an additional 352,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day.
