Oil and gas mergers hit record Q1 levels in 2024

Big energy analytics and advisory firm Enverus reports this week. That oil and gas upstream mergers and acquisitions reached a new first quarter high. Over the initial three months of 2024. In a release sent out Tuesday, report author Andrew Dittmar. Principal Analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), says M&A activity for Q1 2024 totaled to more than $51 billion in deal value.

In an interview, Dittmar says the action started right after the holidays. “We woke up on January 4 to the news that Apache Corp. was doing a $4.5 billion deal to acquire Callon Energy,” he says. “We knew Callon had been on the block, so that wasn’t surprising. Although it was a little surprising. Apache was the acquiring company, just since they haven’t been all that active in the space.”

The record first quarter comes on the heels of the 21st century-high deal total of $192 billion for 2023. Although the Q1 total deal value of $51 billion maintains the pace set last year. Dittmar says he doesn’t expect it to continue for much longer. “The remaining inventory for potential deals remains in the Permian Basin.” He points out, adding, “and the Permian is increasingly controlled by ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Diamondback Energy, Chevron, and Occidental.”

All of those companies have executed major Permian-heavy deals in recent years. And Dittmar says they are now content to own as big a position in the most active basin in the country as they can.

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Source: Forbes

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