shale

Natural gas prices have been persistently sluggish lately, but it looks like deal-making is revving up: The latest offer comes from the CEO of Exco Resources, Douglas Miller, who has offered to buy the energy company for $20.50 per share or about $4.4 billion.

CNOOC, China's top offshore oil producer, plans to buy one-third of Chesapeake Energy's oil and natural gas acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale project in South Texas for $1.08 billion in cash. The companies believe the deal will clear regulatory hurdles, even though CNOOC's efforts to buy a U.S. oil company five years ago were blocked.

The industry is poised for yet another revolution, triggered by ExxonMobil's $41 billion purchase of XTO. It's a clear sign that future growth in extractive energy will come from sources other than oil -- such as natural gas. Expect other oil majors to follow suit.