M&A

Ascent Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Statewide OH | XTO

Ascent Closes on 27K Utica Acres for $270M – Finally Names Seller
August 8, 2022August 8, 2022

On July 1, just as everyone was heading out the door for summer vacation, Ascent Resources announced it is buying another 26,800 acres in the Ohio Utica for $270 million (see Ascent Resources Buys Another 27K Utica Acres for $270 Million). The announcement withheld the identity of the seller but did say Ascent was buying *all* of the seller’s Ohio Utica shale assets, which touched off speculation about who is doing the selling. We now know. On Friday, Ascent announced it has closed on the deal. The seller was…
Read More “Ascent Closes on 27K Utica Acres for $270M – Finally Names Seller”
Diversified Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Diversified Energy Buys ConocoPhillips Assets in TX, OK for $240M
July 29, 2022July 29, 2022

Diversified Energy (sadly) continues to expand outside the Marcellus/Utica region. Yesterday the company announced it is paying $240 million to buy some of ConocoPhillips’ upstream assets in Oklahoma and Texas. The assets include roughly 1,500 wells spanning 250,000 acres. Diversified, which now owns approximately 8 million acres of leases with close to 70,000 (mostly) conventional oil and gas wells used to be solely focused on the Appalachian region–until last year.
Read More “Diversified Energy Buys ConocoPhillips Assets in TX, OK for $240M”
Diversified Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Roane County | West Virginia

Diversified Energy Buys 3rd Well Plugging Co. – WV’s ConServ
July 28, 2022July 28, 2022

Diversified Energy is growing again. In February, Diversified bought out and merged in well-plugging company Next LVL Energy, headquartered in the Pittsburgh area (see Diversified Energy Buys Well-Plugging Co. NextLVL Energy). In May, Diversified announced it is buying a second well-plugging company, Nick’s Well Plugging LLC, based in Warren, Ohio (see Diversified Energy Buys Second Well-Plugging Co. – Based in OH). Here we are two months later, and Diversified is doing it again–buying a third well-plugging company, Contractor Services Inc. (also known as ConServ), based in Spencer, West Virginia.
Read More “Diversified Energy Buys 3rd Well Plugging Co. – WV’s ConServ”
Industrywide Issues | M&A | Research

Mergers & Acquisitions Active in O&G in 2022, but Not in the M-U
July 26, 2022July 26, 2022

Shale energy mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been quite active for the first half of 2022. According to powerhouse energy data company Enverus, the first quarter saw $14.7 billion worth of M&As. The second quarter saw $12 billion in M&As. However, almost all of it happened outside of the Marcellus/Utica. There was $2.8 billion worth of M&A in the M-U during 1Q22, and $0 in 2Q22. One of the main reasons our play hasn’t seen more M&A? Lack of pipelines to move natural gas out of the northeast.
Read More “Mergers & Acquisitions Active in O&G in 2022, but Not in the M-U”
American Energy Partners Inc. | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | M&A

American Energy Buys Radioactive Waste Co. Austin Master Services
July 12, 2022July 12, 2022

American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT), based in Allentown, PA, is a small but diversified company. They have their fingers in a number of different oil and gas pies, including subsidiaries in drilling, remediation, water, valuation services, and education. Add one more to the list: radioactive waste. AEPT recently announced it has purchased Austin Master Services, a company that services the Marcellus/Utica industry (and other industries) with radiological waste management solutions, including remediation, decontamination & decommissioning (D&D), and transport.
Read More “American Energy Buys Radioactive Waste Co. Austin Master Services”
Ascent Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Statewide OH

Ascent Resources Buys Another 27K Utica Acres for $270 Million
July 11, 2022July 11, 2022

Ascent Resources, originally founded as American Energy Partners by gas legend Aubrey McClendon, is a privately-held company that focuses 100% on the Ohio Utica Shale. Ascent is Ohio’s largest natural gas producer and the 8th largest natural gas producer in the U.S. There have been plenty of rumors swirling about Ascent, one that says Gulfport Energy is interested in selling to Ascent (see Rumor: Gulfport Energy in Talks to Merge with Ascent Resources) and another that the company is close to launching an IPO (see Ohio’s Largest Shale Driller, Ascent Resources, Preps for IPO). Here’s something that’s not a rumor: The company is buying another 26,800 acres in the Ohio Utica for $270 million.
Read More “Ascent Resources Buys Another 27K Utica Acres for $270 Million”
Encino Energy | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Statewide OH

Utica Driller Gulfport Energy Considers Merger with Encino Energy
July 1, 2022July 1, 2022

Sources whispering to Bloomberg say that Gulfport Energy, the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled), is having exploratory talks with Encino Energy about selling itself to/merging with Encino. In March the rumor mill said Gulfport was in talks to sell itself to Ascent Resources (see Rumor: Gulfport Energy in Talks to Merge with Ascent Resources). It appears those talks didn’t go anywhere. What about this time?
Read More “Utica Driller Gulfport Energy Considers Merger with Encino Energy”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania | Potter County | Rockdale | S.T.L. Resources | Tilden Bradford | Tioga County (PA)

STL Resources Buys Tilden PA Marcellus Assets from Bankruptcy Sale
June 29, 2022June 29, 2022

S.T.L. Resources, LLC, an independent oil and gas company with headquarters outside of Pittsburgh, announced yesterday that the company has purchased the remaining assets of Tilden Marcellus for an undisclosed sum. Tilden filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February (see Tilden Marcellus Files for Voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy). Although STL doesn’t mention how much it paid, when Tilden filed in February, the company reported its value at the time was “$10 million to $50 million in both assets and liabilities.”
Read More “STL Resources Buys Tilden PA Marcellus Assets from Bankruptcy Sale”
Energy Services | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | M&A | ProFrac | U.S. Well Services

ProFrac Buying E-Fracker US Well Services for Estimated $230M
June 28, 2022June 28, 2022

U.S. Well Services (USWS), a company that specializes in fracking shale wells using gas-fired electric (as opposed to diesel) engines, has operations in the Marcellus/Utica, as well as other plays. Last week USWS announced it is selling itself to ProFrac Holding Corp. in an all-stock transaction analysts value at $225-$230 million. The deal will create the second-largest U.S. fracking company by total horsepower, and the largest electric fleet operator with 12 active e-fracking fleets.
Read More “ProFrac Buying E-Fracker US Well Services for Estimated $230M”
Energy Companies | Greylock Energy | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Greylock Energy, Former Pure-Play M-U, Buys Western O&G Assets
June 16, 2022June 16, 2022

Here’s some major news that we confess we somehow missed back in March. Greylock Energy, which is headquartered in Charleston, WV, and has (until recently) been a pure-play natural gas driller in the Marcellus/Utica, now owns assets and drills for oil (and gas) in Utah and Wyoming. Kyle Mork, president and CEO of Greylock Energy, addressed Hart Energy’s DUG East conference in Pittsburgh yesterday. He talked extensively about Greylock’s decision to “go West young molecule” (our words). Why the Uinta and Green River Basin? Why now?
Read More “Greylock Energy, Former Pure-Play M-U, Buys Western O&G Assets”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | M&A

Falcon & Desert Peak Minerals Combine to Form Sitio Royalties Corp.
June 6, 2022June 6, 2022

From time to time we highlight deals by companies that purchase landowners’ (or rights owners’) royalty payments–giving them a lump sum payment upfront in return for signing over all future royalty payments to the company buying the rights. Buying future royalty payments is not unlike companies that approach and pay lottery winners who receive payouts over a long period (for life, or for a period of years), with the lottery winner selling his or her future payments for a single lump sum now. Two companies of the larger companies in this space are about to merge.
Read More “Falcon & Desert Peak Minerals Combine to Form Sitio Royalties Corp.”
Industrywide Issues | M&A

Activist Investor Elliott Management Goes Shopping in Shale Plays
May 26, 2022May 26, 2022

We have mixed emotions about Elliott Management, a so-called activist investment firm. On the one hand, Elliott assisted the Rice boys in their takeover of EQT in July 2019, which turned out to be a very positive thing (see Rice Bros. Win Proxy War to Control EQT – Toby Rice New CEO). On the other hand, Elliott pressured Marathon Petroleum to sell off two of its three divisions, including what was called MarkWest Energy (see Partial Activist Victory: Marathon to Sell Speedway, CEO Retiring). Elliott succeeded in forcing Marathon to divest its retail Speedway chain, but not MarkWest (now called MPLX). Elliott is on the hunt once again. Elliott, according to Reuters, wrote to big banks in January inviting them to pitch opportunities to acquire U.S. oil and gas acreage.
Read More “Activist Investor Elliott Management Goes Shopping in Shale Plays”
BKV/Banpu | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | M&A

Banpu Expands Again – Buys Exxon’s Texas Barnett Assets
May 20, 2022May 27, 2022

Banpu is Thailand’s largest coal mining company. But Banpu is far more than just a coal company. It has multiple subsidiaries in various energy industries scattered around the globe. For example, here in the U.S. Banpu partners with Kalnin Ventures and operates BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American shale drilling arm of Banpu (Banpu owns 96% of BKV). Banpu originally entered the American shale sector by investing over $500 million in 2016-2017 to buy existing Marcellus wells and acreage in northeast Pennsylvania. But then the company developed a wandering eye…
Read More “Banpu Expands Again – Buys Exxon’s Texas Barnett Assets”
Diversified Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Statewide OH

Diversified Energy Buys Second Well-Plugging Co. – Based in OH
May 17, 2022May 27, 2022

Diversified Energy is growing again. In February Diversified bought out and merged in well-plugging company Next LVL Energy, headquartered in the Pittsburgh area (see Diversified Energy Buys Well-Plugging Co. NextLVL Energy). Yesterday Diversified announced it is buying a second well-plugging company, Nick’s Well Plugging LLC, based in Warren, Ohio, for an undisclosed price. Diversified will add the personnel and equipment from Nick’s to Next LVL, bumping up the existing six well-plugging crews to eight, with plans to add a ninth soon.
Read More “Diversified Energy Buys Second Well-Plugging Co. – Based in OH”
Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Pennsylvania

GAI Buys Texas Engineering Co. to Expand Services in M-U, Elsewhere
April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

GAI Consultants, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a planning, engineering & environmental consulting firm serving clients in the energy, transportation, development, government, and industrial markets. GAI has been in business since 1958 and has served the oil and gas industry since the early 1980s. The shale industry was a big boom for GAI’s business. Shale is helping GAI to grow again–exponentially. GAI announced last Friday the company has expanded further into the oil and gas industry with the acquisition of PGH Petroleum & Environmental Engineers LLC, headquartered in Austin, Texas.
Read More “GAI Buys Texas Engineering Co. to Expand Services in M-U, Elsewhere”
Ascent Resources | Energy Companies | Gulfport Energy | HG Energy | Industrywide Issues | M&A | XTO

4 Cos. Shopping M-U Assets – Represents 11.5% of M-U Production
April 7, 2022April 7, 2022

We recently received a couple of recent issues of a monthly news/analysis newsletter from The Capitol Forum (TCF). The author shared with us (and is allowing us to share with you) the March and April monthly editions of TCF Upstream Monthly, a publication that focuses on drilling in the Appalachian Basin. The April issue tackles the rumored Gulfport Energy/Ascent Resources merger we recently reported on (see Rumor: Gulfport Energy in Talks to Merge with Ascent Resources). Analysis of that potential merger is fascinating. However, it was tangential information part of the analysis that caught our eye. If you add up all of the assets currently rumored or known to be in play (for sale or merger), it amounts to 11.5% of all M-U production.
Read More “4 Cos. Shopping M-U Assets – Represents 11.5% of M-U Production”