Houston-based ConocoPhillips, top U.S. independent oil and gas producer, said Wednesday it agreed to purchase Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal worth $22.5 billion, including $5.4 billion in debt. CNN Business said, “Oil giants are flush with cash and printing bumper profits following years of elevated prices. They’re using those windfalls to snap up assets in the Permian Basin – the oilfield that has helped make the U.S. the world’s top producer of oil and gas….”
ConocoPhillips said it is targeting savings worth $500 million within the first year after closing in 2024Q4. The deal adds more than 2 billion barrels of reserves to the company’s portfolio. Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips CEO, said, “We’re heading into a period of kind of Shale 2.0, which is more about using technology and efficiencies, data analytics, and some of the refrac potential that allows us to extend some tier one inventory.”
Marathon has operations in Permian in west Texas and southeast New Mexico, Eagle Ford in south Texas, and Bakken in North Dakota. ConocoPhillips was the third largest oil and gas producer by volume in Permian in 2024Q1.