Oil & Gas Market Consolidation Heats Up with Blockbuster M&As in 2023
The biggest consolidation move comes from ExxonMobil, which is in the process of expanding its footprint in the U.S. even further, thanks to a definitive agreement to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock transaction, which is valued at $59.5 billion, or $253 per share, based on ExxonMobil’s closing price on October 5, 2023.
Combining Pioneer’s more than 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin with ExxonMobil’s 570,000 net acres in the Delaware and Midland Basins, this merger has an implied total enterprise value, including net debt, of approximately $64.5 billion.
This is in addition to the company’s recent $5 billion all-stock acquisition of Denbury, which expanded carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities through access to what is said to be the largest CO 2 pipeline network in the United States.
To this end, the company agreed to buy Hess Corporation in a $53 billion all-stock deal, which should close in the first half of 2024, subject to Hess shareholder approval, regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.
The Hess acquisition will upgrade and diversify the U.S. giant’s portfolio, enriching it with more shale assets and Guyana’s Stabroek block.
Occidental moved to acquire CrownRock in December 2023 for cash and stock in a transaction valued at approximately $12 billion, including the assumption of CrownRock’s debt.
According to Wood Mackenzie, the completion of this merger will establish Occidental as a top three producer in the Permian behind the oil majors.
A portfolio expansion announcement also came from Harbour Energy, which inked a deal to acquire Wintershall Dea’s entire non-Russian oil and gas portfolio along with carbon capture and storage assets in Europe to bring one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies to life.
The acquisition also supports Harbour’s energy transition goals, thanks to a strong pipeline of European CCS projects with the potential to store more than 10 mtpa of CO2.
While the German operations will be carved out prior to the completion of this acquisition, the Norwegian assets will be taken over by the Italian oil major’s majority-owned Vår Energi.