ExxonMobil has agreed to buy Pioneer Natural Resources in a $59.5bn deal that is set to unleash a wave of consolidation in the US shale oil industry.
The biggest western oil supermajor said on Wednesday it had sealed an all-stock deal that values Pioneer at $253 per share. The combination hands Exxon a dominant position in the Permian Basin, the vast field in western Texas and New Mexico that has helped turn the US into the world’s largest oil and gas producer.
The purchase of Pioneer, which was founded by chief executive Scott Sheffield in 1997, is the group’s biggest acquisition since it was formed through the merger of Exxon and Mobil in 1999. It is also the first of any significant size under Darren Woods, who has led Exxon since 2017.