Chevron, the second-largest US oil and gas company, has agreed a $50bn deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum, one of the country’s leading independent producers. Anadarko accepted Chevron’s bid after rejecting a rival approach from Occidental Petroleum, on the grounds that there was a higher risk the deal would have fallen apart, according to two people familiar with the matter. Buying Anadarko will strengthen Chevron’s position in US shale oil production in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, which it has made a strategic priority for expansion. The acquisition is expected to deliver cost savings worth $2bn a year. Michael Wirth, Chevron’s chief executive, said the deal created “attractive growth opportunities in areas that play to Chevron’s operational strengths.” Roy Martin, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said the deal would establish Chevron as a fourth “ultramajor” oil company, alongside ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP, marking increasing polarisation between the largest global groups and the rest. Financial Times