Oil and natural gas producer Newfield Exploration will raise its acreage in the oil-heavy Uinta basin of Utah by more than a third by buying assets of Harvest Natural Resources and an unnamed private company for about $308 million. Encouraged by crude oil prices that are consistently trading above $100 a barrel, global exploration and production companies have been on the hunt for deals in shale formations across the United States. Houston-based Newfield plans to spend nearly all of its 2011 budget of $1.7 billion to develop its oil and liquids-rich gas plays.
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