Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources are surging on rumors Exxon Mobil is closing in on a deal to purchase the hydrocarbon exploration company, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
Pioneer stock has been battered in recent weeks, down almost 10% the last month.
Exxon's takeover of Pioneer could be worth roughly $60 billion and reshape the U.S. oil industry, according to the Journal.
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It would also be a "legacy-shaping" move for CEO Darren Woods, the Journal noted highlighting his uneven tenure at Exxon which spanned the pandemic including a $22 billion loss, the first annual deficit for the oil major in years.
"We don’t comment on market rumors," an ExxonMobil spokesperson told FOX Business on Friday.
The rumored acquisition could be announced in the coming days, while it is still possible a deal will not be reached, the Journal said.
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Should Exxon, with its $436 billion in market value, acquire Pioneer, it would be the oil king’s largest since merging with Mobil in 1999 while giving the company an improved foothold in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.
After posting a record profit in 2022, the Journal said that Exxon has been "flush with cash" and exploring options that would push it deeper into West Texas shale.
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In April, the Journal reported Exxon and Pioneer and already begun preliminary talks.
Meanwhile, the price of oil is down the last five days, slipping almost 9% to roughly $82 a barrel after reaching the $95 plateau last week.
Oil producers like Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and Hess are down over the same time.
"We're likely to see at least one more rate hike this year, and this higher growth environment means that the oil price may stay at higher levels for a sustained period of time," trend analyst at Q.ai Jason Mountford said. "Investors should be open to the opportunities in the energy sector, but need to be selective in their individual asset selection."
