據烴加工新聞4月9日消息稱，Enverus發布了2021年第一季度美國上游并購活動摘要。報告顯示，本季度的交易額為34億美元，比去年第四季度下降了88%。

這是美國經濟活動連續第三年放緩。交易在2019年和2020年有所回升，在2021年第二季度，隨著先鋒自然資源公司以64億美元收購私人持有的雙點能源公司，交易活動有所回升。

2021年第一季度的交易活動主要集中于傳統石油領域的重產資產。合并后，巴肯和鷹福特占總交易價值的三分之二，盡管這兩個區塊只有三筆重大交易(兩筆在巴肯，一筆在鷹福特)。原油價格的強勁反彈改善了這些較發達地區的現金流，這可能有助于激發買家的額外興趣。

一季度活動的另一個顯著因素是私人股本公司的參與。本季度最大的兩筆交易都是由私募股權投資公司發起的：格雷森米爾能源公司以9億美元收購了巴肯，和瓦利達斯能源公司以8.8億美元收購鷹福特。接下來的兩筆最大交易是布魯因勘探生產公司（以前由私人股本支持，在破產重組后由債權人擁有）和格雷納迪爾能源合作伙伴II的出售，后者由私人資本提供商EnCap和凱恩安德森贊助。

Enverus的并購分析師Andrew Dittmar表示："在2020年的大部分活動由上市公司之間的并購主導之后，我們將看到私募股權在2021年的并購市場上發揮更突出的作用。在多年對非常規資源進行大量投資之后，私人勘探開發公司通過銷售或首次公開募股（IPO）尋找退出市場遇到了困難，并因此削減了在新協議上的支出。現在，從2020年12月到2021年，我們已經看到了幾個著名的撤資，以及來自行業私營方面的新投資。

曹海斌 摘譯自 烴加工新聞

原文如下：

US oil and gas deal value fell 88% in 1Q21, according to report

Enverus has released its summary of 1Q21 US upstream M&A activity. The report shows US$3.4 billion in deal value was transacted during the quarter – an 88% decline from 4Q20.

This is the third year in a row US activity has started slow. Deals rallied in 2019 and 2020, and in 2Q21, activity has picked up with Pioneer Natural Resources’ US$6.4 billion buyout of privately held DoublePoint Energy.

1Q21 deal activity largely focused on production-heavy assets in legacy oil plays. Combined, the Bakken and Eagle Ford accounted for two-thirds of total deal value despite having only three significant deals across the two plays (two in the Bakken and one in the Eagle Ford). A strong rally in crude oil prices improving cash flow from these more developed areas likely helped spur the additional buyer interest.

Another distinguishing factor of 1Q21 activity was involvement by private equity firms. The top two deals of the quarter were both acquisitions by private equity-sponsored E&Ps: Grayson Mill Energy’s US$900 million buy in the Bakken and Validus Energy’s US$880 million Eagle Ford purchase. The next two largest deals were sales by Bruin E&P (formerly private equity-backed and then owned by creditors following a bankruptcy reorganisation) and Grenadier Energy Partners II, which was sponsored by private capital providers EnCap and Kayne Anderson.

“After most of 2020’s activity was dominated by mergers between public companies, we are seeing private equity play a more prominent role in M&A markets in 2021,” said Andrew Dittmar, M&A analyst at Enverus. “Following years of heavy investment in unconventional resources, private E&Ps were having a challenging time finding exits either through sales or IPOs and had consequently tamped back spending on new deals. Now, in December 2020 and continuing into 2021, we have seen several prominent exits plus new investments from the private side of the industry.”