Noble Energy moves in to buy Clayton Williams

Noble Energy is expanding its core US Permian basin holdings through the acquisition of fellow player Clayton Williams Energy for $2.7 billion in cash and stock in a move that analysts said gives it much-needed scale in one of the hottest new plays in the world.

The deal will create the industry’s second-largest acreage position in the southern part of the Permian’s Delaware sub-basin, Noble Energy chief executive David Stover said.

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