The latest mega-deal in the U.S. oil and gas industry left Chevron (NYSE: CVX) on the sidelines, with investors trading out of its stock. The company's shares fell by over 3% on the day which, interestingly, more or less matched the performance of the peer that was behind the deal. Meanwhile, the benchmark S 500 index inched higher on the day, rising by 0.4%.

Before market open, said rival, ExxonMobil, announced it is acquiring fracking specialist Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock transaction with a price tag of just under $60 billion. 

For that very considerable price, Exxon will dramatically increase its footprint in the Permian Basin region in the Southwest U.S. -- Pioneer controls over 850,000 net acres, and Exxon's current tally is around 570,000 net acres. Permian, by the way, is the largest oil field in the country. 

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Source Fool.com