Exxon Mobil and Chevron’s chief executives spoke about combining the oil giants after the pandemic shook the world last year, testing the waters for what could be one of the largest corporate mergers ever, Report informs, referring to The Wall Street Journal.
Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth and Exxon CEO Darren Woods discussed a merger following the new coronavirus outbreak, which decimated oil and gas demand and put an enormous financial strain on both companies.
The discussions were described as preliminary and aren’t ongoing but could come back in the future.
A combined company’s market value could top $350 billion. Exxon has a market value of $190 billion, while Chevron’s is $164 billion. Together, they would likely form the world’s second-largest oil company by market capitalization and production, producing about 7 million barrels of oil and gas a day, based on pre-pandemic levels, second only in both measures to Saudi Aramco.
But a merger of the two largest American oil companies could encounter regulatory and antitrust challenges under the Biden administration. President Biden has said climate change is one of the biggest crises the country faces.
The sides may have missed an opportunity to consummate the deal under former President Donald Trump, whose administration was seen as more friendly to the industry.