Shale Oil M&A Accelerates With Pioneer’s Move to Buy Parsley (1)

The series of mergers reshaping the beleaguered U.S. shale oil industry accelerated Tuesday when Pioneer Natural Resources Co. agreed to buy Parsley Energy Inc. for $4.5 billion in stock, creating one of the largest producers in the Permian Basin.

The deal came a day after ConocoPhillips announced its $9.7 billion takeover of Concho Resources Inc. and underscores the view that oil companies must be big to survive in a new, pandemic-maligned world that’s oversupplied with crude. Earlier this month Chevron Corp. completed its takeover of Noble Energy Inc., while Devon Energy agreed to merge with shale driller WPX in late ...