Insight
Global upstream M&A: 2019 in review
Report summary
Global upstream M&A activity collapsed in 2019. Deal volumes plunged 36% year-on-year to their lowest level in almost two decades. Despite this, aggregate disclosed deal spend jumped 20% to US$129 billion. The apparent paradox is explained at least in part by Occidental’s monumental acquisition of Anadarko, which alone accounted for 40% of deal spend. But there were other highlights, as disposals by the Majors and retrenching US Large Caps opened opportunities for regional Independents and NOCS. This Insight contains a summary of high-level trends and major deals in the upstream M&A market during 2019. We also highlight things to watch for in 2020, referencing key potential transactions currently in our Deal Pipeline.
Table of contents
- Executive Summary
- Global Trends
-
Valuations
- Valuations edged down
- US corporate deal prices reflect weak equity market valuations
- Regional differences continue to highlight local demand-supply dynamics
-
2019 Corporate highlights
- Majors
- Total boosts growth with opportunistic buys
- Eni scales up in Norway via Vår Energi
- Equinor increases exposure to existing assets
- Shell boosts resource base in Russia
- Chevron continues to high-grade
- BP nears US$10 billion disposal target
- EuroMajors offload non-core US uncons
- ExxonMobil gets started on disposal target
- Corporate Service Large and Mid Caps
- Occidental becomes a Super-Independent
- US firms' retrenchment offers domestic growth to peers abroad
- Murphy increases domestic weighting – but not in unconventionals
- INPEX laying foundation for US hub?
- Other Public E&Ps (OPEPs)
- Corporate consolidation marks the peer group's biggest deals
- London-listed companies in the crosshairs of domestic E&Ps
- MOL's international expansion tops peer group's asset deals
- Private and PE
- Privately-backed companies become regional behemoths
- Other notable acquisitions
- Trade sales provide an exit route for US private money
- NOCs and State-Owned Entities (SOEs)
- South East Asian NOCs expand internationally
- Russian LNG brings Chinese NOCs back to international M&A (JOGMEC also joins party)
- Middle East NOCs continue overseas expansion
- Ecopetrol surprises with Permian entry
- Petrobras steps up divestment program
- NOCs bring Majors into domestic assets
-
Regional review and outlook
- North America
- Market sentiment dampens activity
- Tight oil growth slowdown hits M&A market
- Anadarko deal was all about tight oil
- Corporate mergers struggling to impress investors
- Gulf of Mexico: a buyers’ market
- Canadian M&A plummets
- Domestic issues provide challenging M&A backdrop
- Oil sands consolidation underpins (meagre) deal spend
- Uncons activity flatlines
- Rest of the World
- Europe
- IOC exits ramp up; regionally-focused buyers increase scale
- Asia and Oceania
- Africa
- Middle East
- Latin America
- Russian and Caspian
Tables and charts
This report includes 30 images and tables including:
- FY 2019 deals
- Global deal count
- Global deal spend
- Implied Long-Term Oil Price (deal by deal) vs. Brent oil price
- 2019 upstream M&A spend by primary deal location and buyer peer group
- Global deal count
- Global deal spend
- Majors: disclosed A&D consideration, by company
- Majors: total resource traded, by primary resource
- Corporate Service cos: A&D spend by primary region
- Corporate Service cos: Total resource traded, by primary resource theme
- North America: disclosed A&D consideration, by peer group
- Rest of the World: disclosed A&D consideration, by peer group
- NOCs: A&D disclosed consideration, by primary region
- NOCs: overseas disclosed spend, by NOC home territory
- Net M&A spend by company: top 15 buyers and sellers
- North America deal count
- North America deal spend
- N.A. uncons spend by resource type
- N.A. tight oil spend, by primary play
- Value of N.A deals in Pipeline, by resource theme
- No. of N.A. buyers / sellers in Pipeline
- 2019 global upstream M&A spend by primary country, highlighting ten largest deals by volume
- Rest of the World deal count, by region
- Rest of the World deal spend, by region
- Europe A&D by peer group 2015-2019
- Value of RoW deals in Pipeline, by resource theme
- No. of RoW buyers / sellers in Pipeline
What's included
This report contains:
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