US oil major ExxonMobil said that its Permian Basin development in New Mexico will generate approximately $64 billion in net economic benefits for the state and local communities over the next 40 years.
Impact Data Source conducted for ExxonMobil pegged its numbers on an assumed oil price of $40 per barrel.
In a press release on Friday, ExxonMobil company cited a study which said its Permian Basin development will create thousands of new jobs and provide increased funding for education, health and human services and infrastructure improvements.
“The Permian Basin is the engine of America’s energy renaissance and New Mexico residents will see direct economic benefits and opportunities from our planned investments,” said Darren W. Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation. “We will be a significant, long-term economic contributor to the state of New Mexico and will work hard to be a trusted member of the community.”
ExxonMobil said that the New Mexico state government will receive an estimated $62 billion in net fiscal benefits, “$44 billion of which will come from new leases and royalties, according to the research. About $8.5 billion will come from state oil-and-gas severance taxes.”
The release said that from an employment perspective, ExxonMobil’s activities will generate an average of 4,100 direct job opportunities for New Mexicans per year for the next 40 years, the study estimates. “Over the next 40 years, the company’s operations are expected to generate a total of approximately $29 billion in new wages, salaries and benefits,” the release said.
The article quotes New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who said the industry is crucial for residents and expressed optimism about the projections.
“The benefit to this state’s bottom line, as represented by investments from companies like ExxonMobil, has been enormous,” Gov. Lujan Grisham is quoted in the release as saying. “My administration has been and will continue to be responsive to changes in the energy sector and the need for meaningful regulation and diversification as a means of ensuring a sustainable future – for our children, their education, the infrastructure that will support our collective future and more.”
In the South American country of Guyana, ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners HESS and CNOOC Nexen have made 13 commercial discoveries in the offshore Stabroek Block and have estimated their recoverable resources to be more than 5.5 billion barrels. Production is set to commence in early 2020.
