Bengaluru  — Oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum  sought to scuttle Chevron's takeover of Anadarko Petroleum  on Wednesday with a $57bn bid that raises the prospect of the first hostile battle for a major oil company in years. The surprise $76-per-share proposal comes after Occidental repeatedly said in recent weeks that it had been trying to woo Anadarko in an effort to become the largest producer of oil in west Texas's Permian basin, where production has boomed in recent years. Occidental's bid pushed Anadarko's share price in premarket trading above the $65 per share offered by Chevron. It said it had boosted the cash portion of its offer to 50% , up from earlier offers. The Chevron deal is comprised of 25% cash and 75% stock. A deal would make Occidental the largest producer in the lucrative Permian, with total production of 533,000 barrels of oil equivalent production per day, the company said. Shares of Anadarko were up more than 14%  at $73 in premarket trading, while O...

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