The Federal Trade Commission sent ConocoPhillips a second request for information on July 11 regarding its proposed acquisition of Marathon Oil, according to Reuters. ConocoPhillips announced a $22.5 billion stock deal to buy Marathon in May.
The deal would increase oil and gas production and develop U.S. shale fields and liquefied natural gas projects, the companies say, adding “highly complementary acreage” to the tune of more than 2 billion barrels of resource to ConocoPhillips’ onshore U.S. portfolio.
In the last decade, several significant oil mergers and acquisitions have taken place in the U.S., further consolidating the industry. Here are some of the most notable deals:
- Chevron and Hess (2023): Chevron announced its acquisition of Hess for $53 billion in stock. This deal gave Chevron a 30% stake in Guyana’s Stabroek Block, a major oil discovery with significant future production potential (businessinsider.com).
- ExxonMobil and Pioneer Natural Resources (2023): ExxonMobil acquired Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5 billion in an all-stock deal. This merger significantly boosted Exxon’s production in the Permian Basin, adding 711,000 barrels per day to its output (businessinsider.com).
- Occidental Petroleum and Anadarko Petroleum (2019): Occidental acquired Anadarko Petroleum for $55 billion. This deal was one of the largest in recent history and focused on enhancing Occidental’s presence in the Permian Basin (EIA Homepage).
- Diamondback Energy and Energen (2018): Diamondback Energy purchased Energen for $9.2 billion. This acquisition expanded Diamondback’s footprint in the Permian Basin, enhancing its production capabilities and resource base (EIA Homepage).
- ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources (2021): ConocoPhillips acquired Concho Resources for $9.7 billion in an all-stock transaction. This deal aimed to consolidate operations and increase production efficiency in the Permian Basin (EIA Homepage) (businessinsider.com).
These mergers reflect the industry’s focus on increasing production capacity, optimizing operations, and securing resources in key areas like the Permian Basin. The consolidation trend has been driven by fluctuating oil prices, geopolitical events, and technological advancements in oil extraction, particularly fracking (OilPrice.com).
In March, the FTC began requesting public comment on an application from XCL Resources Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of private equity firm EnCap Investment L.P., which seeks FTC approval to buy Altamont Energy, LLC, an oil and gas operator in the Uinta Basin region of Utah. XCL’s petition to the FTC stems from the Commission’s 2022 final order regarding EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI, L.P.’s $1.45 billion acquisition of EP Energy Corp. EnCap and XCL are required by the settlement to obtain approval before acquiring any other producer of waxy crude oil with an output of more than 2,000 barrels per day in the Utah counties of Duchesne, Uintah, Utah, Grand, Emery, Carbon and Wasatch.
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