ExxonMobil will double its presence in the shale-rich Permian oil basin in Texas with a $6.6bn (£5.32bn) deal to buy a string of family-owned oil companies.

The world’s largest oil company said the deal would take its total shale reserves to more than six billion barrels of oil and allow the company to drill deeper wells to drive higher revenues.

Exxon’s chairman and new chief executive Darren Woods said the high-quality oil and gas assets were a major addition to Exxon’s shale portfolio.

The company will make an upfront payment of $5.6bn in Exxon shares to the Bass family, who own the oil assets, followed by a series of additional cash payments totalling up to $1bn between 2020 and 2023, depending on how well the oil fields develop.

The deal marks another major vote of confidence for the re-emerging US shale sector, which took a heavy hit as oil prices fell to historic lows last year.

The number of US shale rigs has gradually started to rise as companies slash costs and oil prices have climbed. Prices have moved from under $30 a barrel a year ago to around $55 today after the world’s biggest oil producers agreed a deal to limit oil flows into the market this year.