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Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is in discussion to buy Permian oil producer CrownRock in a deal valued at about $10 billion, including debt.
A deal for the closely held company may happen soon assuming the talks don’t fall apart or another suitor doesn’t prevail, according to a WSJ report late Wednesday, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The WSJ item comes after Reuters reported in September that CrownRock is evaluating a sale that could value it at more than $10 billion, including debt. Most of CrownRock is owned by buyout firms, led by Lime Rock Partners, which took a 60% stake when it helped launch the company in 2007.
Reuters also reported late last month that ConocoPhillips (COP) was considering a bid for CrownRock after reports said Devon Energy (DVN) was looking at CrownRock as a potential acquisition target.
Diamondback Energy (FANG), Marathon Oil (MRO), and Continental Resources are also studying potential bids for CrownRock, according to the Reuters report last month.
CrownRock, which is said to be valued at $10 billion to $15 billion, owns ~86K net acres in the northern part of the Midland Basin in Texas, which is part of the Permian Basin.
Pressure on oil and gas producers to boost their presence in the Permian has intensified after Exxon (XOM) secured a $59.5 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) and Chevron agreed to a $53 billkon takeover of Hess (HES).