HOUSTON (Reuters) – Chevron Corp last year proposed to acquire a stake of at least 50% in Noble Energy’s Eastern Mediterranean natural-gas fields, talks that led to July’s all-stock deal, a proxy filing on Tuesday showed.
The $5 billion deal would boost Chevron’s U.S. shale oil holdings and give it vast natural gas holdings off the coast of Israel. Noble’s Leviathan is one of the world’s biggest offshore gas discoveries of the last decade, and is already supplying fuel to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
Noble originally went looking for a partner to help finance Leviathan, according to Tuesday’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It contacted eight companies to gauge interest in taking a stake in its Eastern Mediterranean holdings and held talks with six potential buyers, according to the filing.
The purchase still faces a vote by Noble shareholders, who are expected to approve it. Chevron shares on Tuesday were off 6 cents at $89.67 while Noble’s lost 4 cents at $10.65. The proxy filing came after 4 p.m.
(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
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