Over 4 million boe/d of production traded as deal values bounce back in 2021

Global upstream deal values within oil and gas returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, while the largest volume of production changed hands in more than a decade, according to new data from Evaluate Energy.

The recovery in M&A was driven by rising demand and prices following a year of under-investment in new supply, said Eoin Coyne, Evaluate Energy’s senior M&A analyst.

“2021 saw $144 billion in new upstream deals agreed,” said Coyne, co-author of Evaluate Energy’s latest annual M&A report. “This value is 53% higher than the spend in 2020 and in line with the five-year average annual spend prior to 2020.”

The report – available here – analyses the biggest deals of 2021, including green energy deals and investments agreed by traditional oil and gas majors.

“The fact that overall spend for the year was in line with the non-Covid average annual spend hides just how much upstream M&A took place in 2021,” added Coyne, who co-authored the report. “Over 4 million boe/d of production changed hands around the world, which is the largest total since Evaluate Energy began tracking M&A deals in the oil industry 14 years ago.”

Included within the report:

• Woodside, Santos and BHP undertake multibillion-dollar international mergers
• Pioneer, ConocoPhillips and Continental Resources make Permian acquisitions as Shell exits
• Gas companies join the consolidation wave in the U.S.
• Canadian deals are headlined by the merger of ARC Resources and Seven Generations, and the Cenovus asset sale program
• Shell, Eni and Chevron are among E&P majors to make significant green energy sector investments in 2021

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