Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is in talks to buy Permian operator CrownRock for well over $10 billion, including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported overnight citing people familiar with the matter.
A deal between the two could be announced over the near term as long as talks don't fall apart or another suitor doesn't outbid Occidental.
Shares of Occidental traded down 1.5% mid-day amid the report.
CrownRock is one of the last remaining privately held companies in the Permian and produces about 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns a 26% stake in Occidental and commented in the past that they wouldn't seek to acquire the entire company.
Earlier in the fall, speculation suggested that oil giant Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was kicking the tires of Occidental, but talks between the two fizzled. In October, Chevron agreed to acquire Hess (NYSE:HES) in a $53 billion all-cash deal. This deal closely followed Exxon Mobil's nearly $60 billion all-stock deal for Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), highlighting the frenzy of deal activity in the sector.