Chevron Corp on Friday said it will buy oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp for $33 billion in cash and stock in a deal that doubles down on its bet on US shale and LNG as US energy production shatters records.
The deal makes Chevron the second-largest major by crude production, behind Exxon Mobil Corp, up from fourth. It expands Chevron’s reach in two areas where US energy output is surging – shale from the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) – which have helped make the US one of the world’s largest energy exporters.
“Chevron now joins the ranks of the ‘ultramajors’ – and the big three becomes the big four,” said Roy Martin, senior analyst at consultants Wood Mackenzie. “The acquisition makes the majors’ peer group much more polarized. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell and BP are now in a league of their own.”
