Business

ExxonMobil announced an agreement to take over Pioneer Natural Resources, the largest operator in the lucrative Permian Basin shale field, in a deal valued at $59.5bn. The acquisition, Exxon’s biggest since Mobil Oil in 1998, is sure to spur more consolidation. Chevron and ConocoPhillips are also reportedly searching the shale patch for firms they could buy, though the prospect of oil giants gobbling up small drillers may stir antitrust regulators into action.