(Reuters) ExxonMobil said it plans to raise production volumes in the largest U.S. shale basin by 25% this year on top of a similar increase in 2021.
Oil and gas production in the Permian basin of west Texas and New Mexico rose last year by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 460,000 bpd, the company said. That is around 60,000 bpd more than Exxon had planned early last year, when it outlined plans to reach 700,000 bpd in the Permian by 2025.
"Our expectation as we go into 2022 is to grow another 25%, and that's doing that with a very tight control on capital," Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods told analysts on an earnings call.
The planned production increase comes amid a push from the White House to boost U.S. output to stem a sharp increase in fuel prices.
New technology in the Permian basin has allowed the company to "bring barrels to market at a very low cost," Woods said.
Exxon said its global cost of production allow it to break even at a price of $41 per barrel on cheap barrels coming from the Permian and from its deepwater finds in Guyana, in South America. Brent, the global benchmark for oil, is trading around $90 per barrel.
"We're continuing to drive that down even more, expecting to average $35 a barrel between now and 2027," Woods said.
