Exxon desires to maintain possibility for Hess Guyana property, CEO says

(This Dec. 11 story has been corrected to alter the title to Senior Vice President, not Vice Chairman, in paragraph 10)

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) desires to protect its proper of first refusal in Hess Corp (NYSE:HES)’s sale of its Guyana oil manufacturing property due to the work it has put into growing the nation’s offshore fields, two of its high executives mentioned on Wednesday.

A 3-person panel in Could is to determine whether or not Hess’s deal to promote itself to Chevron (NYSE:CVX) can go forward on its authentic phrases. A problem by Exxon and CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) Ltd has stalled the second-largest deal in a current wave of oil megamergers.

“We developed the worth of that asset. We’ve got the correct to contemplate the worth of that asset on this transaction, after which the correct to take an possibility on it,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods informed Wall Road analysts in his most important feedback on the arbitration case so far. “We’ve got a possibility, as does CNOOC, the opposite associate, to take part in that chance to have the correct of first refusal.”

Representatives for Hess and Chevron declined to remark.

Analysts have put the worth of Hess Guyana at between 60% to 80% of Chevron’s proposed $53 billion buy of Hess. The three way partnership has found greater than 11 billion barrels of oil so far.

The proposed sale ignores a three way partnership settlement that grants the correct of first refusal to any sale of a Guyana associate’s stake, Exxon and CNOOC keep.

The 2 firms beforehand have rejected the declare, arguing the deal is structured as a merger and Hess’s Guyana holdings stay intact. Hess has mentioned if the Chevron deal just isn’t concluded it could not individually promote its Guyana properties to Exxon or anybody else.

Woods disregarded Hess’s view of a loss at arbitration souring a sale, saying “that is their assemble, not ours.”

Exxon desires the three-person arbitration panel to contemplate the worth of Hess Guyana as a part of the deliberations.

“We’ll have a look at the worth and see if that worth is in the most effective curiosity of the corporate, the company and the shareholders,” added Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman.