ConocoPhillips may buy rival for $31 billion

The negotiations come against a backdrop of soaring natural-gas prices around the nation following hurricanes this year that knocked out production at platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Frigid temperatures in some parts of the country in recent days have pushed prices even higher. Last week, natural gas prices reached more than $15 per thousand cubic feet in trading, a near record. Talks between ConocoPhillips and Burlington are near completion, the executives said, but they warned that it was still possible the negotiations could collapse. If a deal is reached, it could be announced as early as this week. Details of the terms of the transaction under discussion could not be learned.

Burlington, based in Houston, has more than 2,200 workers. The company has about 12 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural-gas reserves, mostly in North America. However, the acquisition would also help ConocoPhillips internationally, expanding its reach in countries like Ecuador and Canada where Burlington has made inroads. ConocoPhillips, a company formed through a string of earlier mergers, has been using acquisitions to help it grow. In late November, it acquired an oil refinery in Germany from a private concern, Louis Dreyfus, in a deal valued at about $2.5 billion, according to Deutsche Bank. —NYT