Exxon reinforces support for fossil fuels with deal to buy shale giant for $60bn

Deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources shows Exxon's confidence that fossil fuel output will not be hampered in years to come

Oil giant ExxonMobil agreed to buy the shale group Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5bn in a deal that places a vast bet on a future for fossil fuel production in the United States.

America's largest oil and gas deal in more than two decades will increase Exxon's dominance in the Permian Basin shale field, at the heart of the country's transformation into the world's biggest oil producer.