The pipeline unit of refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp. plans to buy MarkWest Energy Partners LP, the second-largest U.S. processor of natural gas, for about $15.8 billion in stock and cash.
The transaction represents a major expansion into pipelines and processing for Marathon, which created its pipeline unit MPLX LP in 2012, the year after it was spun out of producer Marathon Oil Corp.
The refiner has more than doubled in value since then as processors reap the rewards from low crude prices brought on by the shale revolution.
Baker Hughes and Halliburton have entered into a timing agreement with the antitrust division of the US DOJ (Department of Justice).
It means the period for the DOJ’s review of the takeover will now be completed at the end of November, 90 days after both companies have certified compliance.
A deal has also been reached between Baker Hughes and Halliburton to extend the time period for closing the acquisition to no later than December.
U.S. regulators have given the green light for Royal Dutch Shell's proposed $70 billion acquisition of British rival BG Group, the first clearance for the biggest deal in the energy sector in over a decade.
The two companies said on Tuesday the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had cleared the deal.
The deal, which the companies aim to complete by early 2016, will require further regulatory clearances from all the countries BG operates in, including the European Union, China, Australia and Brazil.
The UK Government has warned oil giant BP it would oppose any foreign takeovers bids for the company.
Shell’s recent takeover of BG has heightened speculation that BP could be the next company to be caught up in a wave of mergers since the oil price decline.
According to reports, ExxonMobil could make a move for BP.
As the oil industry takes stock of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $70 billion move for BG Group Plc, one company has more to chew on than most.
BP Plc, the UK’s most storied oil producer and prime mover in previous rounds of consolidation, is now thinking what was once unthinkable: that it could be next in the cross-hairs.
BP executives are concerned the company is vulnerable to an opportunistic bid, according to people familiar with the situation.
In response, they’ve stepped up internal reviews of takeover scenarios and war-gamed defense strategies with advisers from firms including Morgan Stanley, said the people, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the two largest US producers, are seen as the only realistic predators.
The chief executive officer of Norway’s largest oil producer said the industry will probably see more deals after Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $70 billion to BG Plc, especially if crude prices remain depressed.
“All player are looking now at opportunities,” Eldar Saetre, said in Washington on Friday. “There could be more deals. It depends on the oil price, if prices stay low players will get distressed and look for deals.”
Saetre said that the high valuation expectations of potential sellers was “still a problem.”
Nigeria is in talks with Russia’s Rosatom Corp. to build as many as four nuclear power plants costing about $80 billion as Africa’s biggest economy seeks to add 1,200 megawatts capacity by the end of the decade.
The West African nation signed an agreement with Rosatom to cooperate on the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of a facility, said Franklin Erepamo Osaisai, chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission.
It will be increased to four nuclear plants with total capacity of 4,800 megawatts by 2035, with each facility costing $20 billion, he said.
A proposed cash and shares deal between the two companies will leave BG shareholders owning about 19% of the combined company.
For oil major Shell, the addition of BG will increase the company's proved oil and gas reserves by 25%.
It will also boost production by 20% and provide Shell with a much stronger position in new oil and gas projects, particulary in Australia and in Brazil.
The deal will also generate synergies of around $2.5billion a year.
Shares in BG Group have risen by more than a third after it was revealed the company was in talks with oil major Shell.
The deal, which broke last night, began as BG Group confirmed speculation it was in talks with the company.
It has since been confirmed that its board has backed an offer from Shell for a £47billion takeover.
The companies have unveiled details of the merger in a statement to the London Stock exchange.
Repsol has reached an agreement to buy Talisman Energy in a deal worth an estimated $8.3billion.
The move comes after a week of speculation the two companies were in talks once again.
Earlier this year Repsol had confirmed it was looking at a potential transaction with the Canadian energy firm.
A spokesman said the deal received the unanimous approval of both boards.
Halliburton has appointed its chief financial officer (CFO) as chief integration officer to lead its merger with Baker Hughes.
Mark McCollum will serve as head of the joint integration team the two companies are assembling.
It comes after they revealed plans to merge last month in a $34.6billion deal.
Dragon Oil has ditched its £492million takeover bid for Petroceltic.
The move would have seen the company potentially benefit from Petroceltic assets in North Africa and Kurdistan.
However, Dragon Oil said it no longer intends to make an offer on the back of “prevailing market conditions”.
This week heralded a significant moment in the oil and gas industry as Halliburton confirmed plans to takeover Baker Hughes in a $36.4billion deal.
Energy Voice takes a look back at the previous ‘mega-mergers’ that have taken place in recent years.
Triggered by the $110billion merger between BP and Amoco in 1998 just prior to the millennium and a number of years after, some of the biggest oil companies includinging Exxon and Mobil, Chevron and Texaco and Conoco and Phillips merged.
Halliburton is in talks to buy Baker Hughes Inc in a deal that would combine two of the largest and oldest names in the energy business as plunging oil prices send the industry into a downturn.
By eliminating a competitor, Halliburton, already the world’s second-biggest provider of oilfield services, would gain market clout that would help insulate it from a sustained market decline.
A combination of Halliburton with No. 3 Baker Hughes would be a little more than half the size of larger rival Schlumberger Ltd.
