Occidental Petroleum Corporation announced on June 4 that the Federal Trade Commission had approved the oil and gas company's planned acquisition of The Woodlands-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

The FTC on June 3 granted an early termination to the waiting period for the acquisition required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Occidental said in a statement. The bid, valued at $57 billion, must still be approved by Anadarko shareholders and is expected to close in the second half of 2019, Occidental said.

Regulatory approval for the acquisition comes less than two months after Chevron Corporation's initial announcement of its offer for Anadarko, followed by Occidental's own bid. Occidental eventually reached a final agreement with Anadarko for its bid over Chevron's on May 9, boosted by a $10 billion investment by Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. pending the deal's completion.

The future status of Anadarko's significant workforce or landmark headquarters in The Woodlands has not yet been determined. Chevron had said it would maintain a local presence before pulling out of the acquisition process, but Occidental has yet to announce its plans in The Woodlands. Anadarko remains The Woodlands area's second-largest employer, with more than 3,600 full- and part-time staff, and its Town Center headquarters features the two tallest buildings between Houston and Dallas with more than 1.36 million square feet of office space combined.