Oct 23 (Reuters) – Chevron (CVX.N) said on Monday it agreed to buy Hess (HES.N) for $53 billion in stock, the second proposed mega-merger among the biggest U.S. oil players after Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) bid $60 billion for Pioneer Natural Resources earlier this month. The proposed deal raises the competition between Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil and gas producer behind Exxon, and it will make it an unusual partner with its bigger rival in Guyana, as Hess, along with China’s CNOOC, were working together to develop drilling in the nascent Latin American producer. The deal also signals Chevron’s plans to continue boosting investments in fossil fuels as oil demand remains strong and big producers use acquisitions to replenish their inventory after years of under-investment. Chevron has offered 1.025 of its shares for each Hess share held, or $171 per share, implying a premium of about 4.9% to the stock’s last close. The total deal value is $60 billion, including debt. Chevron’s shares were trading 3% lower premarket. RBC analysts said they were surprised by the deal timing and had expected the company to bide its time after Exxon’s mega deal for Pioneer (PXD.N). Guyana has become a major oil producer following huge discoveries in recent years, turning it into one of Latin America’s most prominent producers, only surpassed by Brazil and Mexico. Exxon and partners Hess and China’s CNOOC (0883.HK) are the only active oil producers in the country. Their projects are expected to reach 1.2 million barrels per day of output by 2027.
