Letter from the US: OPEC+ faces US merger threat

The ‘megaproducers’ on the rise following ExxonMobil deal will be less susceptible to OPEC pressure

ExxonMobil’s move to acquire independent Pioneer Natural Resources creates a direct threat to OPEC+ members, particularly Saudi Arabia and Russia. The merged company’s crude production will be larger than all but five or six OPEC+ countries. Further acquisitions made by Chevron and other US producers will create additional large competitors, and these new ‘megaproducers’ will be far less susceptible to calls from oil-exporting nations to reduce output when global supply surpluses pressure prices. In recent years, three current or past CEOs of independent oil producers—Ryan Lance of ConocoPhillips, Vicki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum, and Scott Sheffield of Pioneer—have exhorted other US pro