US oil and gas mergers surged last quarter with the greatest $1 billion plus combinations since 2014, as rising energy and share prices led to larger oilpatch deals.
Producer are consolidating in US shale as oil and natural gas prices recover from last year’s crash due to the pandemic and this month traded at multi-year highs. Smaller producers also are snapping up unwanted properties in a bet on continued demand for oil and gas while some big oil companies shift their acquisition emphasis to renewables.
Total value of the 40 reported deals last quarter was $33 billion, estimated energy data provider Enverus Inc, up from $44.5 billion for all of last year.
The quarter’s seven $1 billion plus deals were mostly in Texas and Colorado oilfields but a fifth of the total value was spend on natural gas properties in the US east.
Natural gas shot into the spotlight with US prices rising 40 percent this year, helping spark Southwestern Energy’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Indigo Natural Resources and EQT Corp’s $2.9 billion deal for northeast gas producer Alta Resources.
For more information visit www.enverus.com
