After a strong start to the year, upstream mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industry fell into a slump in the third quarter and registered the third straight quarterly decline. Deal value in 3Q dropped to $9.7 billion – led by Crescent Energy’s acquisition of Vital Energy in Permian Basin for $3.049 billion in stock and assumed debt. Persistently low crude prices kept many buyers inactive particularly for oil-weighted, private equity-backed oil and gas exits that fueled much of the activity in the recent past.
“Crude prices in the mid $60s or worse have made it tough for sellers, especially private equity firms with oil-weighted assets,” Andrew Dittman, analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research, said Oct. 22. “Many firms are holding off on exits, anticipating a more favorable market in 2027 or later.”
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