Upstream M&A Quarterly Report: Q4 2023

• The US leads in the number of deals (97) and their value (USD 95 bln), and US shale assets are attracting investors. The largest deal (USD 66.5 bln) was the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resource, a US-based E&P company focused on Permian Basin, by international supermajor ExxonMobil.
• Huge investor interest in US shale assets is evidenced by two other notable megadeals: the acquisition of Hess Corporation with its North Dakota shale operations by Chevron (USD 62.6 bln) and the acquisition of CrownRock with its Midland Basin exploration and production assets by Oxy (USD 12.0 bln).
• The UK-based E&P company Harbor Energy acquired the entire upstream business of Wintershall Dea (excluding assets in Russia) for USD 11.2 bln. The deal included E&P assets in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Thus Harbour Energy has bolstered its position in the international upstream business.
• In the Middle East, ExxonMobil exited the West Qurna-1 project after 15 years of field development, selling its stake to PetroChina. At the same time, Russian major LUKOIL plans to continue operations at the West Qurna-2 field for the next 20 years, while TotalEnergies will continue its partnership with Oman LNG.
• Large international supermajors (Shell, BP, Equinor) began leaving Sub-Saharan Africa, selling their stakes in upstream projects. The disposal of Equinor’s stake in Nigeria Abgami field was the largest deal in the region (USD 706 mln). The majority of deals relate to the acquisition of E&P licenses in Angola.
• There was also significant deal activity in CIS countries. Norwegian supermajor Equinor exited Azerbaijan by selling its stakes in upstream and midstream assets (USD 950 mln), while Chinese investors were quite active in Kazakhstan, where they acquired stakes in a number of upstream assets.