ExxonMobil is considering buying U.S. oil and gas producer Damberry Resources

According to a report by Bloomberg News on October 11, 2022, people familiar with the matter revealed that ExxonMobil is currently considering acquiring Danberry Resources, an oil and gas production company
with the largest carbon dioxide pipeline network in the United States.

ExxonMobil has expressed initial interest
in the Plano, Texas-based company, people familiar with the matter said.
As the matter has not been made public, the people asked not to be named
.
They added that no final decision has been made and ExxonMobil may choose not to move forward with the potential deal
.

At 3:49 p.
m.
on October 10, Danbury Resources' stock price rose as much as 12% to $98.
83, with a market value of about $4.
9 billion
.
A representative for Damberry Resources declined to comment, and an ExxonMobil representative did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.

Danbury Resources has more than 1,300 miles (2,092 km) of pipelines
dedicated to transporting carbon dioxide along the Gulf Coast and the Rocky Mountains.
Carbon capture is a cornerstone of ExxonMobil's climate strategy, which aims to eliminate operational emissions by 2050, and the acquisition of Danberry Resources will provide the U.
S.
oil giant with critical, hard-to-replicate infrastructure to achieve that goal
.

If successful, it would also be the largest carbon management investment since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.
S.
in August, which provides substantial tax incentives
for burying carbon dioxide.
The bill increases the tax credit for carbon capture by 70 percent to $
85 per tonne.
Executives, including ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, have praised the bill for funding carbon capture, which Morgan Stanley said could be very lucrative
in the future.

Of all the major U.
S.
oil companies, Damberry Resources has the most aggressive net-zero goal, aiming to be "carbon negative" (Scope 3, including customer emissions) by
2030.

Bloomberg News reported in August that Damberry Resources was in talks with a consultant about a sale
.
Danbury Resources was released from bankruptcy protection in 2020 and has been using carbon dioxide to extract more crude oil from older fields for more than 20 years, a process known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

EOR was unpopular for its high cost and low production during the glory days of shale resources, but has recently regained popularity for its green potential, particularly its ability to
store more carbon underground than the amount of carbon it emits from the oil it produces.

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil pledged $15 billion by 2027 to invest in low carbon, with carbon capture a priority
.
Danbury Resources' Rocky Mountain assets are connected to ExxonMobil's Shute Creek natural gas facility near LaBarge, Wyoming, which captures more
carbon than any other asset in the United States.