American business mogul Warren Buffett's company committed $10 billion to Occidental Petroleum Corporation, which is in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Occidental said in a statement on Tuesday.
The move by Buffett's multinational conglomerate holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, will level the field for Occidental against the U.S.' second largest energy firm Chevron.
Chevron and Occidental have recently engaged in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko, which has rich oil and natural resources across the U.S., in addition to exploration and production projects.
'We are thrilled to have Berkshire Hathaway’s financial support of this exciting opportunity,' Occidental President and CEO Vicki Hollub said in the statement.
'We have long believed that Occidental is uniquely positioned to generate compelling value from Anadarko’s highly complementary asset portfolio,' she added.
Anadarko had 1.47 billion barrels equivalent of proved reserves as of the end of 2018. The winner of the bidding war is expected to acquire a competitive advantage in the fast-growing U.S. shale resource sector and in LNG.
To acquire Anadarko, Chevron made an offer on April 12 for $33 billion, based on $65 per share; however, this was followed on April 24 with Occidental's larger bid offer of $38 billion, based on $76 a share.
Anadarko's board is now considering whether Occidental's offer, empowered by Berkshire Hathaway's $10 billion contribution, constitutes or results in a 'a superior proposal' compared to Chevron's.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr