US energy deals fall to $12 billion in Q3 after a year-long frenzy

Enverus, a leading analytics firm, said that U.S. oil deals slowed dramatically in the last quarter as a result of fewer firms being offered and a consolidation wave lasting ten months.

Andrew Dittmar, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence research, reported that the quarter ending Sept. 30 saw the lowest number of deals in six quarters.

After 2023, when $192 billion was spent on deals in West Texas and New Mexico's Permian Basin, the biggest shale formation in the U.S. He added that these mega deals are causing acquirers to review their portfolios in order to eliminate unwanted assets. He said that some of the largest buyers are now sellers, as they trim their holdings. APA Corp, for example, sold older properties to an unknown buyer, and Occidental Petroleum sold properties worth $818 million to Permian Resource. Two of the biggest deals were made outside the Permian Basin in secondary shale areas. Devon Energy added to its North Dakota assets with a $5 Billion deal for Grayson Mill Energy. Quantum Capital Group, which acquired Caerus Oil & Gas' properties for $1.8 billion, had properties in northwestern Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

Dittmar, from Enverus, said that there is still significant oil and gas outside of the main shale play. We'll see more private and small public companies interested in these assets. The value of the third quarter deals was the lowest quarterly total in this year and less than half that of the $30 billion oil and gas transactions from the second quarter. The Federal Trade Commission, which is the antitrust regulator for the United States, or contract arbitration challenges have delayed some of the announced mergers. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese. Gary McWilliams)

(source: Reuters)