Exxon Mobil Corp said it bought privately held natural gas company Phillips Resources and related company TWP Inc for $1.69 billion last week.
The action highlights the importance Exxon is placing on natural gas assets after spending about $30 billion last year to buy natural gas company XTO Energy, adding one of the leading developers of shale gas and a resource base of 45 trillion cubic feet of gas equivalent.
Exxon has shelled out billions to build up its exposure to so-called "unconventional resources", formations like oil and gas shales that require more advanced technology for extraction.
"We believe that the mergers will create significant value by leveraging regional synergies in upstream operations and acreage holdings between XTO Energy Inc and the Phillips Companies," said Alan Jeffers, an Exxon spokesman.
