Whether or not last week's historic slide in global crude prices has slowed -- which appeared to be the case on Monday -- don't look for the ever-active Chevron
Last week, the second-largest of the U.S.-based integrated oil and gas companies -- behind only ExxonMobil
While terms of its latest purchase weren't disclosed, Chevron will probably ante up about $1.6 billion for the acreage, or within striking distance of half the amount it paid for Atlas. Nevertheless, Chevron is still lagging behind Exxon, which last June paid $41 billion (including debt) for unconventional gas leader XTO Energy, a transaction that instantaneously catapulted the biggest member of Big Oil into a leadership among U.S. gas producers.
At the same time, Chevron continues to maintain a global repertoire of high-level oil and gas activities. For instance, it is the leader -- with Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell
The company has an enviable position in Saudi Arabia, where it is the only large international energy company involved with Saudi Aramco in the upstream. It's also active in a number of other venues, from the South China Sea to Nigeria, where its land and deepwater activities result in expenditures of about $3 billion annually.
But, returning to the Marcellus, leakage from a Chesapeake
All of Chevron's recent transactions haven't been on the buy side. On Monday, as it winnows its coal business, it completed mineral leases involving the production of Alabama metallurgical coal with Walter Energy
For my money, Chevron is a soundly-managed and compelling member of Big Oil, one that -- given its range of activities -- deserves attention from Fools with an appetite for energy. Click here to add Chevron to a free Watchlist on Fool.com and follow all of our updates on this oil and gas behemoth.
Chevron and Statoil are Motley Fool Income Investor picks. The Fool owns shares of Exxon Mobil. Alpha Newsletter Account, LLC owns shares of Chesapeake Energy. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Fool contributor David Lee Smith doesn't own shares of any of the companies named above. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.