Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, its largest buyout since acquiring Mobil two decades ago, creating a colossal fracking operator in West Texas.
Including debt, Exxon is committing about $64.5 billion to the acquisition announced Wednesday, leaving no doubt of the Texas energy company's commitment to fossil fuels as energy prices surge.
In the late 1990s, the merger between Exxon and Mobil was valued around $80 billion.
The deal with Pioneer Natural expands Exxon's presence in the Permian basin that straddles the border between Texas and New Mexico.
The region made up 18% of all U.S. natural gas production last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.