ConocoPhillips will acquire Marathon Oil for $17 billion.

This move expands ConocoPhillips’ domestic shale oil and gas operations across the U.S., from Texas to North Dakota, and extends the company’s reserves as far as Equatorial Guinea. As oil producers bet on robust demand for oil and natural gas in the coming years and seek new drilling locations, this deal further intensifies a recent wave of major transactions. The two companies stated in a joint announcement on Wednesday that the acquisition offer represented a 14.7% premium over Marathon Oil’s last closing share price. The transaction carries an enterprise value of $22.5 billion. ConocoPhillips joins a group of major drillers pursuing production growth through recent acquisitions. In October last year, ExxonMobil acquired Pioneer Natural Resources for $62 billion, accelerating consolidation in the Permian Basin. Shortly thereafter, Chevron agreed to acquire Hess for approximately $53 billion. In recent years, ConocoPhillips expanded its presence in the Permian Basin by acquiring Concho Resources for $13 billion and Shell’s assets in the region for $9.5 billion. In some respects, ConocoPhillips’ deal differs from other recent acquisitions reshaping the U.S. oil landscape. Analysts at Citigroup noted in a research report that ExxonMobil and others have focused primarily on securing future drilling sites, whereas ConocoPhillips’ acquisition of Marathon Oil is geared more toward cost reductions in the Eagle Ford and Bakken shale basins. ConocoPhillips’ stock fell 2.3% at the opening in New York, while Marathon Oil’s rose 11%. Although smaller in scale than the massive deals struck by ExxonMobil and Chevron, ConocoPhillips’ acquisition remains subject to antitrust review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

What landmark events occurred in the global energy market in 2024?

January 10: Chesapeake Energy, a U.S. natural gas company, announced an all-stock deal valued at $7.4 billion to acquire Southwestern Energy, becoming the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. domestic market. 26: The Biden administration paused approvals for new U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects to review their environmental and economic impacts. February 6: The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Net-Zero Industry Act, aimed at boosting industrial deployment of net-zero technologies essential for achieving EU climate goals. 25: QatarEnergy announced continued expansion of the North Field, adding 16 million tons per year of LNG production capacity on top of existing output. March 3: OPEC+ announced an extension of its production-cut agreement—originally set to expire at the end of March—to the end of June, maintaining total cuts at 2.2 million barrels per day. 18–22: The 42nd CERAWeek (Cambridge Energy Week) was held in Houston, Texas, USA. Its theme was “Multidimensional Energy Transition: Markets, Climate, Technology, and Geopolitics.” April 3: SLB (formerly Schlumberger) announced an all-stock acquisition of Champion X for $7.8 billion—the company’s largest merger since 2016. 17: The United States reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. May 3: ExxonMobil announced completion of its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources—the largest deal in the oil and gas industry since the Exxon-Mobil merger. 9: The Australian government released a long-term plan titled the “Future Gas Strategy,” increasing support for gas projects. 27: The EU’s methane emissions regulation formally entered into law, requiring international energy suppliers to reduce methane emissions and leaks. 29: ConocoPhillips announced its $22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil—the highest-value “mega-merger” launched by a U.S. oil company in the first half of 2024. June 2: OPEC+ held its 37th Ministerial Meeting virtually and extended the production-cut agreement to September. July 8: Devon Energy announced a $5 billion acquisition of Grayson Mill Energy’s Williston Basin operations. 14: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced the discovery of high-quality light crude oil and natural gas totaling 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent in an offshore field east of Kuwait—an amount roughly equivalent to the country’s total oil output over three years.

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