ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil Corp. in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $17 billion, further solidifying its position in the US oil and gas industry. The acquisition expands ConocoPhillips’ footprint in domestic shale fields from Texas to North Dakota and adds reserves in Equatorial Guinea, demonstrating the company’s commitment to diversifying its operations.

The takeover agreement represents a 14.7% premium to Marathon’s last closing share price and has an enterprise value of $22.5 billion. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance emphasized that the deal was an opportunistic move, rather than a proactive search for an acquisition.

The ConocoPhillips deal is part of a wave of recent megadeals among major US oil and gas producers, driven by the expectation of sustained oil and gas demand. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have also made significant acquisitions in recent months, with Exxon’s $62 billion deal for Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Chevron’s $53 billion purchase of Hess Corp.

ConocoPhillips has been actively expanding its operations in the Permian Basin through recent acquisitions. The company acquired Concho Resources Inc. for $13 billion and purchased Shell Plc’s Permian assets for $9.5 billion.

Analysts from Citigroup noted that the ConocoPhillips deal stands out from other recent acquisitions in the US oil patch. While Exxon and others focused on securing future drilling sites, ConocoPhillips’ acquisition of Marathon is more focused on reducing costs in the aging Eagle Ford and Bakken shale basins.

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