Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), the world's largest publicly traded energy corporation, will pay $2.91 billion for Canada's Celtic Exploration Ltd., which owns extensive holdings of petroleum shale properties in Alberta and British Columbia, Celtic said Wednesday.

Under the terms of the agreement, ExxonMobil Canada will acquire 545,000 net acres in the liquids-rich Montney shale, 104,000 net acres in the Duvernay shale and additional acreage in other areas of Alberta.

Current production of the acreage to be acquired is 72 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 4,000 barrels per day of crude, condensate and natural gas liquids.

The Celtic acquisition follows last month's $1.6 billion purchase by Exxon of Denbury Resources Inc.'s holdings of petroleum shale properties in North Dakota.

Canada