Permian Basin dominated M&A activity in U.S in 2023, according to report released Tuesday by Enverus Intelligence Research. Enverus said mergers and acquisitions in Q4 and fullyear 2023 both were records – $144 billion in upstream M&A in Q4 (the largest quarter EIR has tracked) and $190 billion for fullyear 2023. Driving the surge in value were two deals – ExxonMobil’s $65 billion acquisition of Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s purchase of Hess for $60 billion.
Enverus said, “The Permian stands well atop the heap for remaining resource, offering both the most high-quality remaining drilling opportunities and the greatest potential for resource expansion from the prolific region’s stacked resource benches… The Permian dominated M&A activity in 2023 with $103 billion transacted,” including Exxon’s purchase of Pioneer (largest independent producer in Permian) and Occidental Petroleum’s purchase of CrownRock for $12 billion.
Andrew Dittmar, Enverus senior vice president, added, “Buyers increasingly showed a willingness to pay whatever it took to boost their footprint in this critical play, and prices for future drilling inventory climbed to new highs… We are unlikely to see an encore in 2024 because the available list of attractive takeout targets has grown short. At the top of that reduced target list is privately held Endeavor Energy Resources….”
Enverus said plays likely to see an uptick in 2024 deals are Eagle Ford in south Texas, SCOOP-STACK in Oklahoma and Bakken in North Dakota.