The value of U.S. oil and gas mergers and acquisitions reached a five-year peak of $96 billion in 2019 on the back of competing bids for Anadarko Petroleum, energy data provider Enverus said on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum Corp’s ( OXY.N ) $38 billion acquisition of Permian rival Anadarko countered a pullback in corporate deal-making the sector, driven by investor pressure to prioritize shareholder returns over growth, Enverus said. Occidental last year won a takeover battle for Anadarko, topping Chevron Corp’s ( CVX.N ) $33 billion offer, after Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s ( BRKa.N ) Warren Buffett and France’s Total SA ( TOTF.PA ) came to its aid. Without that acquisition, the total value of deals in 2019 would have been $39.1 billion, well below the $85 billion recorded in 2018, according to […]