ConocoPhillips looks beyond the Permian

Marathon deal indicative of a maturing shale industry amid greater consolidation and fewer acquisition targets

Superindie ConocoPhillips’ recently announced deal to buy Marathon Oil for $22.5b represents a shift in shale deal-making from a focus on a single basin—the Permian—to a major acquisition of a multi-basin operator. The deal is indicative of a maturing shale industry in which consolidation is ongoing and acreage is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few major players. These players are looking for the best options available to them in terms of buying up remaining acreage. Others could follow ConocoPhillips’ lead in looking beyond the Permian, but the opportunities to do this are also relatively limited. Multi-basin deal ConocoPhillips’ acquisition of Marathon will add more than 2b bl