Chevron announced Oct. 23 it will acquire Hess Corp. in an all-stock deal worth $53 billion, dramatically adding major positions in the Bakken Shale and offshore Guyana.

The acquisition is the second such mega deal for U.S. energy consolidation this month, following the even larger acquisition by Exxon Mobil of Permian producer Pioneer Natural Resources for almost $60 billion.

The two U.S. supermajors, Exxon and Chevron, are making big moves to shore up their oil and gas inventories for years to come. The deal also would make Exxon Mobil and Chevron new partners as the leading explorers and producers offshore of Guyana in South America.

“Building on our track record of successful transactions, the addition of Hess is expected to extend further Chevron’s free cash flow growth,” said Pierre Breber, Chevron’s CFO, in a release. “With greater confidence in projected long-term cash generation, Chevron intends to return more cash to shareholders with higher dividend per share growth and higher share repurchases.”