The Strategist

WSJ: Major US oil companies discuss possible merger



02/01/2021 - 07:20



The CEOs of US oil companies Chevron and ExxonMobil, Mike Wirth and Darren Woods, were in talks about a possible merger because of the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources.



Brian Katt
Brian Katt
They noted that the talks were tentative but that company representatives may revisit them in the future.

The capitalisation of the combined company could exceed $350bn and production could be around 7m bpd, WSJ estimated. 

If the merger of Chevron and ExxonMobil takes place, the company would become the world's second oil company by these figures after Saudi Aramco. At the same time, the newspaper notes that a merger of the largest US oil companies may entail antitrust and regulatory risks.

Chevron and ExxonMobil are major companies that trace their origins to John Rockefeller's Standard Oil, which was recognized as a monopoly in 1911 and split into 34 companies. Chevron was a division of Standard Oil in California, Exxon - in New Jersey and Mobil - in New York.

source: wsj.com