Chevron USA, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), announced on Tuesday that it has acquired lease rights to approximately 125,000 net acres in Texas and Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. Financial details were not disclosed. With this move, Chevron becomes the latest oil major to enter the US lithium market.
Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, stated that the acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand US supplies of critical minerals. This comes as lithium, essential for batteries, gains prominence amid the global transition to a low-carbon economy.
Chevron follows other oil giants like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) in entering the US lithium sector. Last year, ExxonMobil acquired 485 square kilometers of brine-rich acreage in the Smackover Formation from Galvanic Energy for $100 million. The company subsequently launched a pilot project and signed a preliminary supply agreement with South Korean battery maker SK On.
Other initiatives include Occidental Petroleum collaborating with a Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) unit to extract battery-grade lithium from geothermal brine at 10 California power plants, and Norway’s Equinor partnering with Standard Lithium (TSX-V: SLI), which started a commercial-scale demonstration plant in Arkansas last December.
These oil majors are leveraging their expertise in subsurface exploration, drilling, and chemical processing to focus on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) from brines, a method operationally similar to traditional oil extraction. Additionally, repurposing oil fields for lithium extraction is a growing trend. In Alberta, Canada, E3 Lithium (TSX-V: ETL) is advancing its $2.5 billion Clearwater project targeting depleted wells. ExxonMobil’s Canadian arm, Imperial Oil (TSX: IMO), has invested C$6.4 million (approximately $4.7 million) for a 4.3% equity stake in E3.
As energy giants pivot toward green metals, their capital and expertise are expected to accelerate domestic lithium supply chain development, providing impetus to a mining sector recently impacted by investor pullbacks following lithium price declines.
