Permian consolidations set high standards

摘要

The prolifi c Permian basin has been central to the four major US oil and gas merg- ers this year — a catalyst role it will likely continue to play in the coming year. While 2020’s demand collapse has stopped producers from bragging about output growth and driven them to focus on free cash fl ow, large Permian positions are still seen as a long-term benefi t. ConocoPhillips’ deal to buy Concho Resources this month was motivated in part by the former’s need for a signifi cant foothold in the Permian that it has long been missing. The Pioneer Energy-Parsley Energy tie-up was about creating a Permian-centric company with enough fi nancial heft and reserves for many years of profi table production, as was the September merger deal between Devon Energy and WPX. Even the early merger of the year, Chevron’s acquisition of Noble Energy, had a strong Permian acreage position at its heart.