ConocoPhillips Acquires Marathon Oil in $22.5 Billion Deal

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ConocoPhillips, a leading American oil producer, is buying Marathon Oil in a $22.5 billion deal. This follows a trend of consolidation in the oil and gas industry as companies look to expand their reserves and become more efficient. 

ConocoPhillips will pay for Marathon using its own stock. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2024.

Marathon’s assets are a good fit for ConocoPhillips, especially in the Eagle Ford and Bakken shale areas. The deal will also give ConocoPhillips access to Marathon’s international gas operations.

This is the latest in a series of big mergers in the oil and gas industry. ConocoPhillips’ deal follows Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s proposed $53 billion merger with Hess.

There are concerns that these mergers could reduce competition in the industry, but ConocoPhillips argues that the oil market is global and this deal is a small part of it. The company is also confident that regulators will approve the deal.

As part of the deal, ConocoPhillips plans to sell off $2 billion in assets and increase its share buybacks to $7 billion next year. The company has also committed to buying back $20 billion of its shares over the next three years.