Chevron is buying Hess Corp. for $53 billion and it’s not even the biggest acquisition in the energy sector this month as major producers seize the initiative while oil prices surge.
Crude prices rose sharply in early 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are hovering around $90 per barrel after ticking another 9% higher this year, meaning big drillers are flush with cash and looking for places to invest piles of cash.
The Chevron-Hess deal comes less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil said it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion.