Occidental Petroleum has acquired a 10% stake in ExxonMobil’s deepwater exploration block offshore Trinidad and Tobago, according to two Reuters sources familiar with the matter.
The block, known as UD(1), was previously wholly owned by ExxonMobil after the U.S. major acquired it in August 2025. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, Reuters reported.
The acreage lies in water depths of 2,000 to 3,000 metres and is currently undergoing seismic surveys. Exxon Vice President of Global Exploration John Ardill said earlier this month at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston that data acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of July, with interpretation potentially finalized by the end of 2026.
The block has drawn attention because of its proximity to Guyana’s Stabroek Block, where ExxonMobil and partners Hess and CNOOC have made more than 30 oil discoveries since 2015, and rapidly grew production from first oil in 2019 to more than 900,000 barrels per day (b/d).
Ardill previously told Reuters that the Trinidad acreage could hold resource potential comparable to Stabroek or Exxon’s deepwater assets offshore Angola.
ExxonMobil could unlock $20 billion in Trinidad’s deepwater play – Rystad Energy︱OilNOW
Trinidad and Tobago has been seeking new upstream opportunities as output from mature oil and gas fields declines, threatening the viability of its liquefied natural gas industry and petrochemical sector.
Trinidad’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries said officials from ExxonMobil and Occidental met with officials from the Trinidadian government, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, on May 22.
Exxon is expected to decide whether to drill an exploration well after reviewing the seismic data, which could provide the first concrete indication of the block’s commercial potential.
Occidental is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas producers, with operations spanning conventional, shale and offshore assets across multiple continents. Occidental also holds the Roraima Block, an asset in the northwestern section of Guyana’s territory, but it is under force majeure due to the territorial controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.
