This is the first major acquisition by Chevron since the company was outbid by Occidental Petroleum for Anadarko Petroleum last year. That $38 billion deal has left Occidental heavily in debt, while Chevron walked away with a $1 billion termination fee. If the deal goes through, Chevron would pick up 92,000 acres of shale oil near or adjacent to its own fields. The deal will also give Chevron a presence in Israeli waters where Noble has discovered large natural gas deposits in recent years. Nevertheless, the acquisition ought to help Chevron — which has put much of its emphasis on oil exploration — get more deeply into natural gas.

Source: New York Times July 20, 2020 20:03 UTC