According to a Wall Street Journal report last week, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has its sights set on making a megadeal. It has reportedly held informal talks with U.S. oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) and at least one other company. Such a deal with Pioneer or a similarily sized producer could reshape the U.S. oil patch by giving Exxon a much larger footprint in the resource-rich Permian Basin.

Here's a closer look at why Exxon is on the prowl, what's the draw of Pioneer, and whether a deal would make ExxonMobil stock a better investment.

Last year, ExxonMobil recorded $56 billion of profit, fueled partly by higher oil and gas prices. That was a record for the company and a historic high for the Western oil industry.

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Source Fool.com