Guyana has emerged as one of the most prized oil assets over the last 10 years and the race to develop this asset is seen as critical to stable oil production growth over the next 10 years. Chevron has attempted to jump into this growth by purchasing Hess for a $53B price tag, seemingly giving them access to Hess’s prized 30% stake in the Starbroek Block. This deal gave Chevron the future production growth it was seeking after missing out on some of the larger Permian shale deals we have seen over the last 12 months. But ExxonMobil had other plans, being the operator of this field, has experienced what it sees as a “First Of Right of Refusal” to Guyana and has petitioned to international courts to block this deal until ExxonMobil decides whether or not to “bid” on this 30% stake.
You probably covered this and I probably missed it - if Hess is being fought over, why is its stock going down lately?