ExxonMobil announced on Friday that it has formally finalized its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, after receiving regulatory approval from the U.S. The deal, which is worth nearly $60 billion, sees ExxonMobil take on additional commitments of around $64.5 billion, including debt.
This acquisition had faced opposition from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), citing concerns that Scott Sheffield, Pioneer's CEO, could potentially cause price increases in crude oil through collusive activities if he retained a board position post-acquisition. These concerns stemmed from allegations that Sheffield tried to sync Permian Basin oil field production in West Texas and New Mexico with that of OPEC+. To alleviate these concerns, Sheffield was required to relinquish his board position before the deal got approval.
ExxonMobil expects that the merger will double its Permian Basin production volumes to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, based on the previous year's volume. The company further anticipates this number to increase to approximately 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2027. Darren Woods, ExxonMobil CEO, stated that the addition of Pioneer provides the company with an enhanced opportunity to utilize their technology and assure operational and capital efficiency for sustained shareholder value.
Despite the announcement, ExxonMobil’s shares experienced a slight drop of 0.7% at $115.38 by 12:20 p.m. ET on Friday. Nonetheless, the company's stocks have seen a positive trend with a rise of over 15% this year.