Exxon Mobil Corporation and Pioneer Natural Resources jointly announced a definitive agreement for ExxonMobil to acquire Pioneer.
The merger is an all-stock transaction valued at $59.5 billion, or $253 per share, based on ExxonMobil’s closing price on October 5, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares of ExxonMobil for each Pioneer share at closing. The implied total enterprise value of the transaction, including net debt, is approximately $64.5 billion.
The merger combines Pioneer’s more than 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin with ExxonMobil’s 570,000 net acres in the Delaware and Midland Basins, creating a high-quality undeveloped U.S. unconventional inventory position. Together, the companies will have an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent resource in the Permian. At close, ExxonMobil’s Permian production volume would more than double to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MOEBD), based on 2023 volumes, and is expected to increase to approximately 2 MOEBD in 2027. ExxonMobil believes the transaction represents an opportunity for even greater U.S. energy security by bringing the best technologies, operational excellence and financial capability to an important source of domestic supply, benefitting the American economy and its consumers.
“Pioneer is a clear leader in the Permian with a unique asset base and people with deep industry knowledge. The combined capabilities of our two companies will provide long-term value creation well in excess of what either company is capable of doing on a standalone basis,” said ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods. “Their tier-one acreage is highly contiguous, allowing for greater opportunities to deploy our technologies, delivering operating and capital efficiency as well as significantly increasing production. As importantly, as we look to combine our companies, we bring together environmental best-practices that will lower our environmental footprint and plan to accelerate Pioneer’s net-zero plan from 2050 to 2035.”
Pioneer Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield commented, “The combination of ExxonMobil and Pioneer creates a diversified energy company with the largest footprint of high-return wells in the Permian Basin. As part of a global enterprise, Pioneer, our shareholders and our employees will be better positioned for long-term success through a size and scale that spans the globe and offers diversity through product and exposure to the full energy value chain. The consolidated company will maintain its leadership position, driving further efficiencies through the combination of our adjacent, contiguous acreage in the Midland Basin and our highly talented employee base, with the improved ability to deliver durable returns, creating tangible value for shareholders for decades to come.”
Transaction Benefits
Combining Pioneer’s differentiated Permian inventory and basin knowledge with ExxonMobil’s proprietary technologies, financial resources, and project development is expected to generate double-digit returns by recovering more resource, more efficiently and with a lower environmental impact.
The transaction is an opportunity to deliver capital efficiency and cost performance as well as increase production by combining Pioneer’s large-scale, contiguous, high-quality undeveloped Midland acreage with ExxonMobil’s Permian resource development approach. The unique, complementary fit of Pioneer’s contiguous acreage will allow ExxonMobil to drill long laterals — up to four miles — which will result in fewer wells and a smaller surface footprint. The company also expects to enhance field digitalization and automation that will optimize production throughput and cost.
The combination transforms ExxonMobil’s upstream portfolio by increasing lower-cost-of-supply production, as well as short-cycle capital flexibility. The company expects a cost of supply of less than $35 per barrel from Pioneer’s assets. By 2027, short-cycle barrels will comprise more than 40% of the total upstream volumes, positioning the company to more quickly respond to demand changes and increase capture of price and volume upside.
The transaction’s unique value creation opportunity results in significant synergies and further upside potential that will be shared by both companies’ shareholders. The merger is anticipated to be accretive immediately and highly accretive mid- to long-term to ExxonMobil earnings per share and free cash flow, with a long cash flow runway. ExxonMobil’s strong balance sheet combined with Pioneer’s added surplus free cash flow provides upside opportunity to enhance shareholder capital returns post-closing.
Accelerating to Net Zero in the Permian
ExxonMobil has plans to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions from its Permian unconventional operations by 2030. As part of the transaction, ExxonMobil intends to leverage its Permian greenhouse gas reduction plans to accelerate Pioneer’s net zero emissions plan by 15 years, to 2035.
ExxonMobil will leverage the same aggressive strategy and apply its new technologies for monitoring, measuring, and addressing fugitive methane to lower both companies’ methane emissions.In addition, using combined operating capabilities and infrastructure, we expect to increase the amount of recycled water used in its Permian fracturing operations to more than 90% by 2030.
Transaction Details
The per-share merger consideration noted above represents an approximate 18% premium to Pioneer’s undisturbed closing price on October 5 and a 9% premium to its prior 30-day volume-weighted average price on the same day.
The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals. It is also subject to approval by Pioneer shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
