These are challenging times in the oil patch. Crude oil prices continue to sag, due largely to OPEC+ production increases. E&Ps are trimming their capex, share buybacks, and staff. Some worry that production in key basins may be peaking. And yet, upstream M&A activity continues unabated as producers seek to gain scale, expand into new plays — or double down on old ones — and replenish their inventory of top-tier well sites. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss four of the biggest deals announced in the past few weeks.
It hasn’t been easy keeping up with all the buying, selling, swapping and other dealmaking in the upstream space. Used to be we would blog about M&A activity every few months, but lately we find ourselves returning to the topic much more frequently. It seems as if E&Ps of all stripes are keenly aware that this is a critical time in the evolution of the oil and gas industry, and that only the “best” producers — those with size, scope, and highly productive acreage — will survive (and maybe thrive in) the potentially even tougher times ahead.
The RBN Energy U.S. Propane Infrastructure map provides a comprehensive view of the propane supply network in the lower 48 states.
Last time, in We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, we focused on the divestitures that a number of big acquirers have been making to reduce their M&A-related debt and fine-tune their portfolios. Today, we turn our attention to a quartet of recently announced, nine- or ten-digit acquisitions involving assets in a wide range of production areas: the Permian, Bakken, Anadarko and Uinta — and even California’s Kern County!
Crescent Energy/Vital Energy
Crescent Energy (stock symbol CRGY), already a leading player in the Eagle Ford and the Uinta, expects to close on the all-stock, $3.1 billion acquisition of Permian pure-play E&P Vital Energy by the end of this year. The deal, announced in late August, will give Crescent more oil-weighted production and a much stronger foothold in West Texas, where the company currently has only ~18,000 net acres in the Permian’s Central Platform. Vital (VTLE) will bring another 267,300 net acres in the Midland and Delaware basins (yellow areas in Figure 1 below), where the company expects to produce an average of ~138 Mboe/d (47% oil) in 2025.
Vital Energy’s Assets in the Permian
Join Backstage Pass to Read Full Article
About the song
“Stayin’ Alive” was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, and appears as the first song on side one of the soundtrack album, Saturday Night Fever, featuring the Bee Gees. Recorded at Chateau d’Herouville in Herouville, France, and Criteria Studios in Miami, the song was produced by the Bee Gees, with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. Released as a single in December 1977, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It has been certified 3X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Personnel on the record were: Barry Gibb (lead, harmony vocals, rhythm guitar), Robin Gibb (harmony vocals), Maurice Gibb (harmony vocals, bass), Alan Kendall (lead guitar), Dennis Bryon (drum loops), Blue Weaver (keyboards, synthesizer) and Joe Lala (percussion).
Saturday Night Fever is the soundtrack album from the hit 1977 movie of the same title starring John Travolta and featuring music from the Bee Gees. It is the second-best-selling soundtrack album of all time, selling over 45 million copies worldwide (as a double-disc album). Recorded in 1975-77, it was released in November 1977. It went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, where it stayed for 24 straight weeks. It has been certified 16X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Six singles were released from the album.
The Bee Gees were a pop music group formed in Australia in 1958. Consisting of brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, the group started out in the rock era of the mid-1960s, later migrating to the disco era of the late ’70s. They released 22 studio albums, two live albums, four soundtrack albums, 22 compilation albums and 86 singles and have sold more than 220 million records worldwide. The Bee Gees have won three American Music Awards, a Brit Award, a BMI Icon Award and seven Grammy Awards and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Grammy Music Hall of Fame (with a Lifetime Achievement Award). All three Bee Gees have been appointed Commanders of the British Empire (CBE). Barry Gibb received Kennedy Center Honors in 2023. Maurice Gibb died in January 2003 at 53. Robin Gibb died in May 2012 at 62. Barry Gibb continues to record and occasionally perform live. As a solo artist, he has released three studio albums and 14 singles.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
