Mubasher: Chevron on Friday announced that it will acquire Anadarko Petroleum in a $33 billion cash-and-stock deal, as the US energy giant plans to expand its footprint in shale oil and liquid natural gas (LNG) market, Reuters reported.

Chevron expects that the deal will add to free cash flow and profit a year after its conclusion, should global Brent crude remains above $60 per barrel (pb).

The acquisition of Anadarko would also provide the combine company a corridor, extending 75 miles (120 kilometres) across the Permian’s Delaware basin on the borders between Texas and New Mexico. Chevron already has 2.3 million acres in the Permian Basin.

Moreover, Anadarko also has Mozambique LNG project.

The merger deal, which as the biggest in the industry since Royal Dutch Shell’s acquisition of BG group in 2016, came as Chevron’s drive to catch up on the shale boom in the Permian Basin.

More nimble independent producers such as Anadarko led the development in the shale drilling technology.

With oil markets on the bull this year, Chevron and bigger rival Exxon Mobil have been stepping up investments in the Permian basin.