Welcome to your Hart Energy Live A&D Minute.

We heard that Exxon Mobil held preliminary talks on a possible acquisition of shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources. Though talks are early stage, a deal with Pioneer could materially boost Exxon's inventory in the Permian Basin. The question for investors, though, is at what cost? The deal could potentially cost Exxon $70 billion, according to TD Cowen analysts.

Private equity firm Tailwater Capital is growing a minerals and royalties position in key shale basins. Here's what Doug Prieto, CEO of Tailwater E&P had to say about the deal:

The close of the Tailwater Royalties fund, along with the operative transaction that we did in the second quarter of last year, really cements another player in the upstream private equity space. And so Tailwater Capital is truly committed to all things upstream E&P through its three verticals—royalties, non-operated and operated. For Tailwater Capital, it's just doubling down on our full immersion strategy where we have an all-of-the-above approach focused on both conventional energy and a lower hydrocarbon strategy as well.

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