ExxonMobil and Chevron Fight Over Billion-Dollar Oil Discovery in Guyana

Two big American oil companies, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are fighting over who gets to buy a huge oil project in Guyana. The fight will be decided by judges in London on Monday.

Here's what happened: Chevron wants to buy a smaller oil company called Hess for $53 billion. Hess owns 30% of a massive oilfield in Guyana called Stabroek. But ExxonMobil, which already owns 45% of the same oilfield, says it has the right to buy Hess's share first.

The Stabroek oilfield is incredibly valuable - it has about 11 billion barrels of oil worth up to $1 trillion. Over the next 15 years, the companies could make $182 billion in profits from it.

The legal fight comes down to the exact words in their business contract. ExxonMobil says the contract gives it "first dibs" when any partner tries to sell their share. Hess and Chevron argue that rule doesn't apply when one company buys another company completely.

This case is important because it could change how oil companies write their contracts in the future. For Chevron especially, winning this fight is crucial since they need more oil reserves to stay competitive.