July 3, 2025: Oil giant Chevron has announced a foray into the lithium business with the acquisition of land in Texas and Arkansas.

Chevron confirmed on June 17 it had acquired 125,000 acres in the Smackover Formation — an area extending from central Texas to the Florida panhandle, which has a high lithium content.
The leasehold acreage has been acquired from TerraVolta Resources, whose investor is an affiliate of The Energy & Minerals Group, and East Texas Natural Resources.

The move marks the corporation’s first step toward establishing a commercial-scale, domestic lithium business, Chevron said.

Future development will aim to utilize the direct lithium extraction process from brines produced from the subsurface.

Chevron said the process would mean faster and more efficient production and is expected to have a smaller environmental footprint compared to traditional extraction methods.

Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains was essential for US energy leadership and to meet the growing demand for battery makers in the mobility and energy storage sectors.

The corporation is following in the tracks of Exxon Mobil, which announced plans in November 2023 to become a leading producer of lithium, after acquiring the rights to around 120,000 acres in the Smackover Formation.