ExxonMobil has acquired nearly 50,000 hectares of land in the Smackover region of southern Arkansas, from the prospecting company Galvanic Energy, for the amount of 100 million dollars
The Smackover is today known more for making Arkansas the world’s second-largest supplier of bromine. Like the bromine, the lithium in the Smackover is found in the oilfield brine and therefore can be sourced using many of the same technologies used in the oil and gas industry.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), lithium demand is expected to increase by almost 90% over the next two decades, in a scenario which meets the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
Based in Oklahoma City, Galvanic Energy is a geoscience-driven resource exploration company with expertise in reservoir characterization and mineral acquisition.
(Source: JPT/La Tribune – Image: Galvanic Energy drilling site in the Smackoveer oilfields/Galvanic Energy)