ExxonMobil and Chevron go big in the Permian

It is a new era for the supermajors and the west Texas shale basin as the companies plot aggressive growth plans

For the first time in a long time, America's supermajors are putting the US at the heart of their growth strategies. ExxonMobil and Chevron this year have both rolled out aggressive plans to expand in the Permian. This move will bring deep pockets and big-oil discipline to the fast-growing shale play, which has been dominated in the past by upstart independents. Exxon signalled its intentions in the Permian last year when it bought up huge tracts of land in the Delaware section of the play from the famed oil-rich Bass family for $5.5bn. Since, it has pieced together hundreds of thousands of acres across the Midland and Delaware sections of the Permian through a series of purchases and land s