After years of relentless balance-sheet repair, the upstream oil and gas industry may be reaching an important turning point in its capital-allocation strategy. Today, we review Q2 2026 cash allocation and analyze a trend that is far from uniform, revealing sharply different priorities among E&Ps.
Industry executive surveys in Q2 2026 and observations by oil service firms all reflect an optimism that suggests producers are warming to increasing activity to boost oil and gas output. The key question is whether that has translated into higher investment.
Rising crude oil prices provided a powerful tailwind for Oil-Weighted E&Ps, while plunging natural gas prices wounded Gas-Weighted producers after a bountiful Q1. Today, we review the Q2 2026 results of the 37 publicly traded E&Ps we cover and analyze the remarkably wide performance gap they reveal.
There has been no 11-figure upstream M&A since Devon Energy and Coterra Energy announced their $21.4 billion merger in early February, just a few weeks before the war on Iran started and the Strait of Hormuz was closed. But other, somewhat smaller — but still noteworthy — deals continue to happen.
The first half of 2026 was a tale of two commodity markets as crude oil prices surged during the spring while natural gas prices retreated after an exceptionally strong winter rally. Today, we examine which oil and gas producers outperformed and why investors rewarded certain business models over others.
After years of prioritizing balance sheet repair and shareholder returns, upstream E&Ps are facing a dramatically different commodity environment. With cash flows rising, producers faced pressures to reassess priorities as hydrocarbon prices increased. Today, we look at how they responded.
Given that the Iran war-driven surge in oil prices doubled Q1 E&P profits, a surge in capex to capture fatter cash flows seemed like a sure thing, but that would have been a losing bet. Today, we review oil and gas producers’ investment and production guidance and analyze potential future strategy.
Just as upstream producers settled into a lower-growth, shareholder-return-focused era, commodity prices moved sharply higher during Q1 2026. Today, we chronicle a massive rebound in profitability and cash flow from a dismal Q4 2025 for the 38 E&P companies we cover.
The competition for upstream assets in the Permian is fierce. It’s a different story in the Anadarko, where production has been flat and some larger E&Ps have been exiting. But there’s been a lot of big-money M&A in the Anadarko lately, most for steady-as-she-goes production assets at reasonable prices.
The prospect of procuring steady production assets at reasonable prices has been spurring interest in the Anadarko Basin. In the past few weeks, two privately held producers closed on deals totaling more than $4 billion, with another $1-billion-plus agreement announced this month. What’s going on?
