Chevron to buy Hess for $53 bn as biggest US oil firms get even bigger

Chevron Corp said on Monday it will buy smaller rival Hess Corp in a $53-billion all-stock deal, as the oil major looks to increase its footprint in oil-rich Guyana.

The deal puts two of the top oil giants, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, head-to-head in two of the world’s fastest growing oil basins – shale and Guyana.

Guyana has become a major oil producer in recent years after huge discoveries by Exxon Mobil, its partner Hess and China’s CNOOC, which together produce 400,000 bpd from two offshore vessels and have said they could develop up to 10 offshore projects.