Exxon Mobil to buy shale driller Pioneer for $93 billion

The news: Oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil has agreed to buy shale gas explorer Pioneer Natural Resources in a deal that would make it the biggest producer in the largest US oilfield.

The numbers: Exxon Mobil will pay USD253 a share, or USD59.5 billion ($93 billion) to secure Pioneer in an all-stock deal. The offer represents a 9% premium to Pioneer's average price for the 30 days prior to 5 October, when deal talks surfaced. Pioneer shares closed 1.4% higher, while Exxon Mobil shares fell 3.7%.

The context: Pioneer is the Permian shale oil and gas field's largest well operator, while Exxon occupies the No. 5 spot. The merged company could add 700,000 barrels per day of oil and gas production within four years, and it will also aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase oil output per well by combining Exxon technology with Pioneer's lower cost of operations. The acquisition would give Exxon, which posted record profits last year, a dominant position in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. The deal would also be Exxon’s largest since its megamerger with Mobil in 1999.