By Michelle Chapman | The Associated Press
ConocoPhillips is buying Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $17.1 billion as energy prices rise and big oil companies reap massive profits.
The deal is valued at $22.5 billion when including $5.4 billion in debt.
Crude prices have jumped more than 12% this year, and the cost for a barrel rose above $80 this week. Oil majors put up record profits after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and while those numbers have slipped, there has been a surge in mergers between energy companies flush with cash.
“We never know when these opportunities come available, and this one certainly came available, or to our attention, here a few weeks ago,” Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call. “We weren’t necessarily out looking for something, but it was an opportunity that presented itself.”
Chevron said last year that it was buying Hess in a $53 billion acquisition, though that deal faces headwinds. The company warned the buyout may be in jeopardy because it will require the approval of Exxon Mobil and a Chinese national oil company, which both hold rights to development of an oil field off the coast of the South American nation Guyana where Hess is a big player.
In July of last year, Exxon Mobil said that it would pay $4.9 billion for Denbury Resources, an oil and gas producer that has entered the business of capturing and storing carbon and stands to benefit from changes in U.S. climate policy. Three months later, Exxon announced the proposed acquisition of shale operator Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion.
All the proposed acquisitions could face pushback from the U.S. which, under the Biden administration, has stepped up antitrust reviews for energy companies and other sectors as well, such as tech.
The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces federal antitrust law, asked for additional information from Exxon and Pioneer about their proposed…
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