Exxon and Chevron Plan Permian Oil Surge as Peers Preach Caution

The Western world’s two largest oil majors are expecting double-digit growth from the basin in 2022.

A worker powerwashes the drilling floor of a rig drilling for Chevron Corp. in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas.Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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President Joe Biden, who had asked OPEC+ to raise oil production faster to tame runaway energy prices, got a gift on his home turf instead: a blockbuster growth forecast for U.S. shale production from the country’s two biggest oil companies.

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Tuesday it plans to boost output by 25% this year in the Permian Basin, the biggest U.S. oil-producing region. That comes four days after Chevron Corp. announced it will ramp up its own Permian supplies by 10% from an even larger production base. Such aggressive targets from the Western world’s largest oil majors are a surefire sign that U.S. shale is back to growth mode after cuts in 2020 and a lackluster 2021.