Chevron to buy Hess Corp for $53 billion in all-stock deal.

Chevron (CVX.N) has agreed to buy Hess (HES.N) for $53 billion in stock to gain a bigger U.S. oil footprint and a stake in rival Exxon Mobil’s (XOM.N) massive Guyana discoveries, the latest in a series of blockbuster U.S. oil combinations.

The Chevron deal announced on Monday and a $60 billion acquisition by Exxon earlier this month will add years of oil and gas production to the two top U.S. producers’ portfolios, much of it from U.S. shale. And the deals will leave European oil rivals that had shifted their focus to renewable energy further behind in fossil fuels.

“This is great for energy security: It brings together two great American companies,” said Chevron CEO Michael Wirth, who has bulked up the company’s shale oil and gas holdings by acquiring U.S. rivals PDC Energy and Noble Energy.

The combination of Hess, PDC and Noble will bring Chevron’s total oil and gas output to about 3.7 million barrels per day (bpd). It will expand Chevron’s shale output by 40% to 1.3 million bpd, putting it neck and neck with Exxon’s projected shale output following its Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) acquisition.

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The combined company will expand Chevron’s oil production in less risky regions by adding to its output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and by bringing it into the Bakken shale in North Dakota.

The deal gives Chevron a 30% stake in the Exxon and CNOOC (0883.HK) Stabroek oil block in Guyana, which is expected to triple to more than 1.2 million bpd by 2027.

“This deal is all about the world-class Guyana asset, which is by far the crown jewel in the Hess portfolio,” wrote Capital One Securities analysts in a note.

Guyana has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing oil province following more than 11 billion barrels of oil and gas discoveries since 2015.

CEO John Hess said the government of Guyana and Exxon would welcome Chevron’s entry into the country’s oil fields.

John Hess told Reuters he has been in talks with Wirth for about two years.

“We eventually talked about each other’s companies and the strategic fit,” Hess said.

The executives have known each other for many years, having previously been partners in U.S. Gulf of Mexico fields, and regularly discussed their business, Wirth told Reuters.

“This is a discussion that goes back a number of years over a variety of conversations in person, on the phone and over dinners,” Wirth said.

Goldman Sachs was the lead adviser to Hess while Morgan Stanley was the lead adviser to Chevron.

Shares sold off in midday trading on Monday with Chevron down 3.3% at $161.25 and Hess falling about 1% to $161.33. Both companies’ share track crude oil prices, which dropped on Monday.