Exxon Mobil ‘s (XOM) planned deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) has sparked talk of more consolidation in the oil-and-gas industry. While we don’t own companies as mergers-and-acquisition plays, the potential for more tie-ups could have significant implications for our remaining oil name: Coterra Energy (CTRA). It’s unclear which shoe will drop next now that Pioneer — the largest independent producer in the Permian Basin, a key U.S. oil field in West Texas and New Mexico — is effectively off the market in an all-stock deal valuing the company at roughly $60 billion . But analysts expect the acquisition by Exxon, the most valuable U.S. oil-and-gas company at nearly $450 billion in market capitalization, to have ripple effects on producers of all sizes. “Consolidation is critical for the sector. It’s healthy. It’s needed, and I think you’ll see more of it,” said Gabriele Sorbara, an analyst at Siebert Williams Shank & Co. The consolidation could take multiple shapes, as companies seek scale and bolster the amount of quality land they own to drill on in the future. On the one hand, investors are looking at bigger U.S. players such as Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP), wondering whether they’ll follow Exxon’s lead and acquire smaller exploration-and-production (E & P) firms. Chevron’s market cap is around $324 billion, while ConocoPhillips is worth roughly $152 billion, based on Thursday’s stock prices. Another possibility could be that E & P companies further down the valuation ladder choose to pursue deals that make their own inventory positions more attractive to investors, according to Nitin Kumar, senior analyst at Mizuho Securities. Companies in this basket could include Coterra, Devon Energy (DVN) and Diamondback Energy (FANG). Coterra is valued at roughly $22.4 billion Thursday, while Devon and Diamondback are valued at $31.7 billion and $30.5 billion, respectively. “I’m not proposing there’s going to be a big wave of M & A, necessarily. But if scale is what matters, your options are limited,” Kumar said. He added: “You can choose to either go your own way…you can look at the small public guys and pick off a few assets there, or you could look at mergers of equals and say, ‘Hey look, let’s two of us get together and now we create a competitive position with 800,000, 900,000 acres into play.'” That would be roughly on par with Pioneer’s more-than-850,000 acres in the Permian Basin. “All those should be options that these guys should be thinking about strategically,” Kumar argued. Devon Energy is reportedly doing just that. In recent months, the Oklahoma City-based company has held preliminary talks with Marathon Oil (MRO) about a potential tie-up , Bloomberg reported after the close Wednesday , citing people familiar with the matter. Houston-based Marathon is valued at nearly $18 billion, as of Thursday. Devon has also eyed privately held CrownRock, which operates in the Permian, according to Bloomberg. In recent years, publicly traded E & P companies have adopted a more muted approach to production growth — bowing to investor pressure after spending heavily to pump more oil in the 2010s proved unkind to energy stocks as crude prices pulled back. Now, the priority is generating more sustainable cash flows that can be returned to investors through buyback programs and dividends. The shift has generally been positive for the stock prices of oil companies. Expense reduction is another way to satisfy investors, and is likely a major motivation behind any further consolidation that might occur in the sector, said Scotiabank analyst Paul Cheng. Smaller companies may not solve their inventory backlog problems by combining, Cheng said, “but that certainly could provide them additional room to reduce costs.” At the time the Exxon-Pioneer deal was announced, Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust owned a position in Pioneer. We sold our entire stake Monday, and will consider redeploying some of the cash into Coterra on future pullbacks in its stock price. Our investment in Coterra has been rooted in its attractive fundamentals as an E & P play with sizable exposure to both oil and natural gas — not its viability as a takeover target, or even a buyer itself. Indeed, owning Coterra in the hopes that a larger company may swoop in and offer a big premium would not be a wise strategy. That’s because a substantial premium might never materialize — as we saw with Exxon’s valuation of Pioneer. The industry’s newfound restraint on production makes it harder to justify paying up for a company, analysts say, compared with the premiums paid in the early days of the U.S. shale boom a decade ago. “If you go back to 2014, 2016, in those deals it was asset acquisition driven by growth. Today, it’s asset acquisition driven by not volume growth, but cash flow sustainability and longevity. It’s a little bit of a different motivator,” Mizuho’s Kumar said. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CTRA. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Permian Basin rigs in 2020, when U.S. crude oil production dropped by 3 million a day as Wall Street pressure forced cuts.
Paul Ratje | Afp | Getty Images
Exxon Mobil‘s (XOM) planned deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) has sparked talk of more consolidation in the oil-and-gas industry. While we don’t own companies as mergers-and-acquisition plays, the potential for more tie-ups could have significant implications for our remaining oil name: Coterra Energy (CTRA).
Photos of the existing contaminated minelands that will be converted to solar under the recently approved Black Moshannon solar project in Rush Township, Centre County PA (Photo: PennEnvironment)
Rush Township supervisors in Centre County, Pennsylvania, voted this week to greenlight a key permit for the Black Moshannon Solar project – a large solar development that would turn toxic former mineland into a major source of clean power.
If built, the Pennsylvania solar project would generate 265 megawatts of electricity – enough to power about 200,000 homes annually – on nearly 2,000 acres of toxic mineland. Developers deliberately chose the site, as the project is designed to reclaim land left behind by mining and fold environmental cleanup into the solar buildout.
According to project plans, the site would be restored with pollinators and pollinator-friendly ground cover planted beneath the solar panels. Developers have also committed to ongoing water quality and soil testing during construction and operations, along with soil improvements such as applying lime to help neutralize mining-related contamination and support vegetation growth.
Beyond the environmental cleanup, the project is expected to deliver a financial boost to the region. Black Moshannon Solar is projected to generate more than $5 million in tax revenue for the Phillipsburg-Osceola Area School District, along with more than $700,000 in direct tax payments to Centre County.
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Environmental and energy advocates praised the township’s decision. David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, called the vote a model for other communities across the state. “We are hopeful that other local government officials across Pennsylvania will follow Rush Township’s lead and implement similar, much-needed solar projects all across the Keystone State.”
Jim Gregory, executive director of the Conservative Energy Network-Pennsylvania, also applauded the approval. “In 40 years, their forward-thinking decisions will be recognized as catalysts for environmental protection, public health improvements, and economic prosperity.”
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Genesis is gearing up to launch the stunning new flagship SUV. Ahead of its official debut, the GV90 leaked during an internal presentation, revealing our first look at the ultra-luxe electric SUV.
Genesis GV90 leak reveals coach doors and more
The GV90 is arriving as the largest, most luxurious Genesis SUV to date. Based on the Neolun Concept, the new flagship SUV will sit above the GV80 as Genesis expands into new segments.
As Genesis calls it, the “ultra-luxe, state-of-the-art SUV” stole the spotlight at the New York Auto Show last March.
It wasn’t the stunning, reductive design inspired by Korea’s moon-shaped porcelain jars or the premium Royal Indigo and Purple silk materials that caught most people’s attention at the event, but the B-pillarless coach doors.
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The SUV was showcased with Rolls-Royce-like coach doors, offering a new level of luxury for Genesis. Although we’ve seen the GV90 spotted out in public testing a few times now with coach doors, we wondered if they would make it to the production model.
The Genesis Neolun electric SUV concept, a preview of the GV90 (Source: Genesis)
After the full-size SUV reportedly leaked during an internal presentation, it looks like we’ve found our answer. The Genesis GV90 leak reveals two versions: a standard model and a coach-door model.
The leaked images from our friends at ShortsCar offer our first look at the production version in full. Earlier this month, a GV90 prototype was spotted out in public with the coach doors wide open, providing a sneak peek of the interior.
From what was shown, the cabin will feature a similar layout to the concept, with high-end purple and indigo materials. The GV90 was also caught with an all-black interior, which is expected to be the standard version.
A new video from the folks over at HealerTV offers a closer look at the breathtaking interior ahead of its official debut.
The GV90 appears to retain the gear selector located near the top of the steering wheel from the Neolun concept.
Another report, from TheKoreanCarBlog, confirms the new gear selector after the first interior spy shots surfaced.
From what we’ve seen so far, the GV90 is shaping up to be a near replica of the ultra-luxe Neolun concept. Genesis has yet to announce a launch date for the GV90, but it is expected to make an official debut by the end of the year with sales starting in mid-2026.
Prices and final specs, like driving range, will be revealed closer to launch, but the Genesis GV90 is rumoured to be the first vehicle to ride on Hyundai’s new eM platform.
Hyundai said the new platform will deliver a 50% improvement in range compared to its current E-GMP-based EVs, such as the IONIQ 5. It’s also expected to offer Level 3 autonomous driving as well as other advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features.
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Turning cheap daytime solar into electricity you can actually use at night just got a lot cheaper. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that utility-scale battery storage costs have fallen to $65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of October 2025 in markets outside China and the US. At that level, pairing solar with batteries to deliver power when it’s needed is now economically viable.
Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past two years, and the decline continues. Following a steep decline in 2024, Ember’s analysis indicates that prices continued to fall sharply again in 2025.
The findings are based on real-world data from recent battery and solar-plus-storage auctions in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India, as well as interviews with active developers across global markets.
According to Ember, the cost of a whole, grid-connected utility-scale battery storage system for long-duration projects (four hours or more) is now about $125 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of October 2025. That figure applies to projects outside China and the US. Core battery equipment delivered from China costs around $75/kWh, while installation and grid connection typically add another $50/kWh.
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Those lower upfront costs have pushed down the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) to just $65/MWh. Ember’s calculation reflects real-world assumptions around financing costs, system lifetime, efficiency, and battery degradation.
Cheaper hardware isn’t the only reason storage costs are falling. Longer battery lifetimes, higher efficiencies, and lower financing costs, helped by clearer revenue models such as auctions, have all contributed to the sharp drop in LCOS. Ember has published a live calculator alongside the report, allowing users to estimate LCOS using their own assumptions.
Why this matters comes down to how solar is actually used. Most solar power is generated during the day, so only a portion needs to be stored to make it dispatchable. Ember estimates that if half of daytime solar generation is shifted to nighttime, the $65/MWh storage cost adds about $33/MWh to the cost of solar electricity.
With the global average price of solar at $43/MWh in 2024, adding storage would bring the total cost to about $76/MWh, delivering power in a way that better matches real demand.
As Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova put it, after a 40% drop in battery equipment costs in 2024, the industry is now on track for another major fall in 2025. The economics of battery storage, she said, are “unrecognizable,” and the industry is still adjusting to this new reality.
“Solar is no longer just cheap daytime electricity; now it’s anytime dispatchable electricity. This is a game-changer for countries with fast-growing demand and strong solar resources,” Rangelova added.
Together, solar and battery storage are increasingly emerging as a scalable, secure, and affordable foundation for future power systems.
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Your personalized heat pump quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – *ad
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