Consolidation in Western Canada’s oil and gas sector received another boost recently with the takeover of Montney-focused producer NuVista Energy by Ovintiv, already one of the region’s largest producers of natural gas and condensate. The C$3.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) deal builds on Ovintiv’s similarly sized acquisition of Paramount Resources in 2024 and gives the company an even stronger position in one of Canada’s most important plays. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the transaction and where it positions Ovintiv in the Montney.
The old saying, “When it rains, it pours,” certainly applies to the merger and acquisition (M&A) frenzy that has been gripping Western Canada’s energy sector. Like many oil and gas companies worldwide, Canadian firms have been subjected to volatile and declining crude oil prices for most of this year, but they have also had to endure another summer of painfully low Western Canadian natural gas cash prices (for those that were not sufficiently hedged). These trends have depressed stock valuations for some producers and spurred buying interest by larger — and better capitalized — rivals.
Aside from relatively cheap stock valuations, the reasons for M&A can be as varied as the people and companies involved but typically incorporate numerous factors such as: the purchase of specific assets or whole companies outright to increase efficiency and lower per unit production costs; the magnitude of oil and gas production on offer; land position; existing surface facilities for production and processing; and future drilling opportunities that might arise from acquired oil and gas reserves. Other intangibles such as tax pools, regulatory exposure, the exchange rate and employee talents can also be part of the mix.
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With Canada’s economy being buffeted by seemingly random and inconsistent changes to tariffs by its largest trading partner, the U.S., and competitive export opportunities for crude oil and natural gas expanding in the past year or so thanks to the start of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (aka TMX) and LNG Canada, becoming a bigger producer and landholder to remain cost effective and relevant has become even more imperative. This backdrop, especially since January, has seen several major acquisitions come to light in Canada’s oil and gas business.
The largest this year was the C$15 billion (US$10.7 billion) blockbuster deal in March involving the acquisition of Veren Inc. by Whitecap Resources. Whitecap made no secret that the motivation was not only to buy into quality complementary assets but also to grow its land position and production in key unconventional formations, such as the Montney and Duvernay, and to stay competitive against larger rivals. The next major takeover came in the midstream sector with Keyera Corp. buying the Canadian NGLs business of Plains Midstream Canada for C$5.2 billion (US$3.8 billion). This deal not only gave Keyera a huge national footprint, but “Canadian-ized” assets that had been held for many years through the U.S. parent company of Plains Midstream, Plains All American.
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About the song
“Til There Was You” was written by Meredith Wilson and appears as the third song on side two of The Beatles’ debut Capitol Records album, Meet The Beatles. The song was first released as a single in November 1957 by Nelson Riddle. It first caught the public’s eye as a centerpiece song in the second act of the 1957 Broadway musical, The Music Man. It was sung by Barbara Cook in the original Broadway cast album, and by Shirley Jones for the 1962 movie version. In May 1959, Anita Bryant released a single of it that went to #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The Beatles started performing the song in their Hamburg days in 1962, perhaps to entertain the squares in the rowdy nightclub crowds. They performed it as the second song on their February 1964 live American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, perhaps once again for the same reason. “These boys can’t be all bad; they played a nice song from a Broadway musical.” Never released as a single in the U.S., it was sometimes performed in their live set on their 1964 U.S. winter tour. Personnel on the record were: Paul McCartney (lead vocals, bass), John Lennon (acoustic nylon-string rhythm guitar), George Harrison (acoustic nylon-string lead guitar) and Ringo Starr (bongos).
Meet The Beatles was The Beatles’ debut Capitol Records album. Produced by George Martin, it was released in January 1964 and went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, where it remained for 11 consecutive weeks. It has been certified 5X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. One single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There,” was released from the LP.
The Beatles were a British rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr is regarded as one of the greatest rock bands of all time and was responsible for changing popular music and culture in the 1960s. They released 17 studio albums, five live albums, 52 compilation albums, 36 EPs and 63 singles and have sold more than 800 million records worldwide. The Beatles have won an Academy Award, four Brit Awards, eight Grammy Awards, 14 Ivor Novello Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, U.K. Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. All four members have an MBE; McCartney and Starr have been knighted. The Beatles made four motion pictures. After the band broke up in 1970, each of the band members pursued successful solo careers. John Lennon was assassinated outside his home in New York City in December 1980 at 40. George Harrison died in Beverly Hills in November 2001 at 58. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr still record and tour as solo artists. McCartney is currently on his Got Back Tour in the U.S. Ringo Starr released his latest LP, Look Up, in January 2025, and will begin a U.S. tour with his All Starr Band in the spring of 2026.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
