Exxon Mobil, the company that recently made a $100 million deal with Oklahoma City’s Galvanic Energy for lithium production in southern Arkansas, just widened its grasp on acreage in the state.
It agreed to develop more than 6,100 lithium-rich acres in Arkansas’ Smackover Formation with Tetra Technologies. The deal was the second move this year by the oil giant for control of assets needed to produce the electric vehicle battery metal.
The first was with Galvanic Energy—a $100 million contract for the rights to a 120,000 acre tract held by the Oklahoma company. Galvanic has been at the center of efforts to produce lithium from the brine-rich Smackover Formation.
Exxon’s rapid expansion into the lithium sector comes amid growing interest by traditional energy companies and others into emerging technologies that aim to boost global supply of the ultralight metal reported Reuters.
The deal was originally announced on PR News Wire where Tetra, based in Houston said it had signed an agreement with Saltwerx LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company.
The two firms will pool certain of their respective brine mineral rights in Arkansas’ Smackover Formation, in support of an application for an approximately 6,000 acre Brine Production Unit with the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission and potential bromine and lithium extraction from the brine produced from such Brine Unit.
Contingent on Brine Unit approval by the AOGC, TETRA and Saltwerx have agreed to collaborate in key areas, including upstream design and development to optimize long-term brine production, technology development for lithium extraction, and associated engineering studies required to develop the proposed Brine Unit.
As part of the MOU, subject to AOGC approval of the Brine Unit, TETRA and Saltwerx have agreed to work together to negotiate operating, joint venture and/or joint development agreements relating to the development of the Brine Unit.
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