Oil bidding war: Occidental trumps Chevron's deal for Anadarko

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) revealed a $76-a-share offer on Wednesday to acquire oil driller Anadarko Petroleum. (APC)

The cash-and-stock offer from Occidental trumps the $33 billion takeover deal Anadarko reached earlier this month with energy giant Chevron (CVX).

Anadarko's shares soared 9% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

The bidding war underlines the frenzy among oil companies to grab the hottest drilling properties in America's shale oil boom.

Anadarko owns prized land in the Permian Basin, the shale oilfield in West Texas. The surging Permian has catapulted the United States beyond Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's leading oil producer.

"We will deploy our expertise to enhance the performance and productivity of Anadarko's assets not only in the Permian, but globally," Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub said in a statement.

A marriage between Occidental and Anadarko would create an energy giant worth over $100 billion with daily production of more than 1.4 million barrels of oil.

Hollub said Occidental has been "focused" on Anadarko for "several years" because it believes the two companies are a good match.

Occidental's offer is split 50/50 between cash and stock. The bid values Anadarko at $57 billion, including debt.

Soon after Chevron reached its cash-and-stock deal for Anadarko on April 12 reports emerged indicating Occidental had been planning its own offer.

Occidental said the Anadarko deal would immediately add to its bottom line and cash flow. The company estimated $3.5 billion of free cash flow improvements through $2 billion of cost synergies and $1.5 billion of capital reductions.

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