Oil major ExxonMobil has acquired Denbury, a US-based carbon solutions provider, in a deal worth $4.9bn.

Denbury is focused on the development of enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) operations in the Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast regions.

As per the terms of the deal, which was announced in July 2023, Denbury shareholders will receive 0.84 shares of ExxonMobil for each share held in Denbury.

The deal also includes Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain oil and natural gas operations comprising total proved reserves of more than 200 million barrels of oil equivalent as of year-end 2022.

With about 46,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day of current production, these operations are expected to provide Exxon with immediate operating cash flow and optionality for carbon capture operations.

Exxon expects the combination of these assets and capabilities, once fully developed and optimised, to reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 100 million tonnes annually.

Exxon Mobil chairman and CEO Darren Woods said: “This transaction is a major step forward in the profitable growth of our Low Carbon Solutions business.

“Our expertise, combined with Denbury’s talent and CO₂ pipeline network, expands our low-carbon leadership and best positions us to meet the decarbonisation needs of industrial customers while also reducing emissions in our own operations.”

With the completion of the deal, ExxonMobil holds what it claims to be the largest owned and operated CO₂ pipeline network in the US.

This network includes around 925 miles of CO₂ pipelines in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.

Exxon will also have access to more than 15 strategically located onshore CO₂ storage sites.

This latest development comes after ExxonMobil and Hess decided to exit the Kaieteur oil exploration block, offshore Guyana following unsatisfactory exploration results.

Exxon and Hess transferred their shares in Kaieteur to Ratio Guyana and Cataleya Energy, which initially owned the exploration licenses.