Chevron picks Noble in biggest US energy deal since oil crash

Chevron Corp said it would buy Noble Energy Inc in a $5 billion all-stock deal, bolstering its shale presence as a plunge in crude prices have made assets cheaper.

The deal, the largest in the US.energy sector this year, comes more than a year after Chevron abandoned its offer for Anadarko Petroleum Corp, outmaneuvered by Occidental Petroleum Corp’s higher bid.

Oil prices plunged to historic lows in April as the coronavirus crisis decimated demand. While prices have recovered from their lows, they remain depressed, making assets cheaper, as a new surge of COVID-19 cases threaten to stall recovery.

The deal will also give Chevron access to Noble’s flagship Leviathan field, the largest natural gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean, which began producing natural gas late last year.