ExxonMobil deal will transform shale and beyond
The major’s $60bn Pioneer purchase signals long-term view of oil demand and a mature consolidated shale industry
Goodbye, ‘Big Oil’; hello, ‘Massive Oil’. There are few superlatives that will do justice to the game-changing tie-up between major ExxonMobil and Texas-based shale player Pioneer Natural Resources. The new company will become the undisputed king of the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, with production of almost 4.5m boe/d dwarfing that of rivals such as Chevron and Shell. The agreement means access to Pioneer’s acreage—seen as the highest quality resource position in the Permian—and would elevate ExxonMobil’s total in-basin resources to 16b boe, with combined output from the basin of around 2m boe/d by 2027. At the close of the deal, ExxonMobil’s Permian production volume would more th
Also in this section
29 January 2026
Caught between LNG risks from across the Atlantic and the wounds from Russian gas dependence, Europe needs more than a simple diversification strategy
28 January 2026
The alliance looks to bolster market management credibility by bringing greater clarity and unity to output cuts and producer capacity later in 2026
23 January 2026
A strategic pivot away from Russian crude in recent weeks tees up the possibility of improved US-India trade relations
23 January 2026
The signing of a deal with a TotalEnergies-led consortium to explore for gas in a block adjoining Israel’s maritime area may breathe new life into the country’s gas ambitions






