Chevron has scored a critical ruling in Paris that has given it the go-ahead for a $53 billion acquisition of Hess and access to one of the biggest oil finds of the decade.

Houston-based Chevron said Friday that it completed its acquisition of Hess — one of three companies with access to the massive Stabroek Block oil field off the coast of Guyana — shortly after the ruling from the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Exxon had challenged Chevron’s bid.

Guyana is a nation of 791,000 people that is poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer, placing it ahead of Qatar, the United States, Mexico and Norway. Chevron joins oil giants Exxon Mobil and China’s CNOOC as major players in the lucrative oil fields of northern South America. — Associated Press