Late last week, Chevron announced its decision to takeover Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion, a deal that could mark a watershed moment for the Permian basin and the U.S. shale industry as a whole. The deal is widely seen as potentially the beginning of a massive round of consolidation in the shale industry. Already, the Permian basin has rapidly shifted in favor of the largest oil companies , with ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron betting their futures on West Texas and New Mexico. Exxon expects to produce 1 million barrels per day (mb/d) from the Permian by 2024, while Chevron had announced plans to produce 900,000 bpd by the same date. The acquisition of Anadarko grows Chevron’s position in the Permian, while also adding offshore and LNG projects to the oil major’s portfolio. Chevron’s total production will jump almost to parity with Shell and ExxonMobil, rising to 3.6 mb/d after […]