Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Oxy Turns Into Next Big Buyer in Permian

• COP28 Starts with Oil Scandal

• Upcoming Oil and Gas Events

• Tweet of the Day

Oxy Turns Into Next Big Buyer in Permian

Occidental Petroleum is in talks to acquire fellow Permian driller CrownRock.

The deal could be worth $10 billion or more.

Per sources cited by the WSJ, other candidates for CrownRock might emerge, too.

The Permian magnet

All of the deals this year in the U.S. oil patch have had a special focus on the Permian.

It’s easy to see why.

The Permian is the most prolific shale play.

And there isn’t much untapped, available acreage left there.

Acquisitions are the only way to growth.

And it seems a lot of already big companies want to grow even bigger in the Permian.

CrownRock pumps some 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily.

That makes it one of the few remaining large-ish independents in the Permian.

Not for long, it seems.

Optimizing for the future?

The recent string of massive acquisitions tells a simple yet important story.

Big Oil is going nowhere, whatever activists chant.

But it’s getting even leaner and meaner, optimizing operations everywhere it can.

It’s what you do when you face an uncertain future.

Growth through acquisitions is the perfect option for companies that made record profits last year.

To the no doubt eternal fury of activists, they are actually free to do whatever they want with those profits.

And they’re using them for something else that would make activists furious: boosting oil output.

Life’s funny that way.

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COP28 Starts with Oil Scandal

A day before COP28 began in Dubai, the BBC lit a bomb under the UAE.

The British media reported that the UAE planned to use the event to close oil deals.

The cheeks!

Leaky documents

The BBC said the damning information was contained in leaked documents.

The info in question was “plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations.”

Examples include talking points for a meeting with China to discuss international LNG development.

There are also, reportedly, references to the UAE’s readiness to help Colombia develop its oil and gas resources.

How horrible, right?

The head of the Emirati oil company, Adnoc, was quick to strike back.

Sultan Al-Juber, who also happens to be the president of COP28, said that the allegations the BBC made were “false, not true, incorrect and not accurate.”

It seems he really wanted to make sure he is understood.

But honestly, is anyone really surprised?

When has COP turned into a trade show?

Conference of the parties or World Energy Expo?

This year’s edition of the so-called climate conference will see some 70,000 participants.

That’s a pretty large number of people.

And guess what they’ll be doing: browsing the pavilions.

That’s right. Everyone who wants to promote something will be able to do it at their pavilion.

Even OPEC will have a pavilion at COP28!

To promote its efforts in decarbonization, if you can imagine that.

World Energy Expo definitely sounds more accurate for this event.

Upcoming Oil & Gas Events

• December 6: Petroleum Alliance Of Oklahoma Wildcatters Wednesday Luncheon, Oklahoma City, OK

• December 6: 15th Annual PAW Wildlife & Reclamation Conference, Casper, WY

• December 6: PIOGA Mix, Mingle & Jingle Holiday Party, Wexford, PA

• December 15: 23rd Annual KOGA Christmas Party, Bodley Bullock House, Lexington, KY

Around the Global Patch

🇨🇦 Canadian gas coalition targets methane management.
🇨🇳 Chinese contractor initiates bids for deepwater pipelay.
🇷🇺 Navigating Russian sanctions: global challenges unveiled.

Tweet of the Day

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Stay oily, my friend.

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