IKAV has agreed to acquire Aera Energy, one of California’s largest oil and gas producers, through two separate transactions with the joint-venture subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell.
Headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif., Aera accounts for nearly 25 percent of the state’s oil and gas production. In 2021, Aera produced 95,000 barrels of crude oil equivalent per day. With operations centered in the San Joaquin Valley, most of Aera’s oil production originates from Kern County.
IKAV said its investment in Aera underlines that conventional energy will continue to play an essential role in California’s energy supply during the state’s transition to renewable sources. IKAV’s strategy supports reducing emissions in conventional-energy production, as well as the energy needed to power those operations toward being carbon-neutral within the next decades.
The company plans to achieve this by committing significant investment to building a diversified renewabl
