M&A activity in the Haynesville Shale during 2025 was defined by selective, strategically driven transactions tied closely to LNG demand and Gulf Coast market access. While overall deal volume remained measured, international utilities and capital providers demonstrated sustained interest in long-duration gas assets, reinforcing the basin’s role as a long-term supply source within global natural gas portfolios.
Year-end 2025 is quickly approaching so that means it’s time to take a look back at the year. Here are the top ten posts for the year measured by readership.
Third-quarter commentary from E&P and oilfield service companies highlighted a cautious near-term outlook paired with growing confidence in long-term demand. While operators remain in “maintenance mode,” structural growth themes—LNG, data centers, offshore development, and water midstream—continue to shape strategy. Despite softer activity, companies emphasized free cash flow, efficiency, and positioning for stronger demand later in the decade.
Mercer Capital has its finger on the pulse of the minerals market. The most recent Mineral Aggregator Valuation Multiples Study is now available.
The Q3 2025 issue of Mercer Capital’s Exploration and Production Newsletter focuses on the Appalachia basin. Overall, the Appalachian basin enters late-2025 on firmer footing than a year ago, characterized by stable production, recovering equity performance, and improving infrastructure fundamentals. Continued progress on export capacity and incremental LNG demand should provide a constructive backdrop for basin economics heading into 2026. Read more in this week’s post.
Permian oil producers struggle for growth as gas peers surge on LNG demand and power generation optimism heading into 2026.
The oilfield water sector is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of the energy value chain. Rising water volumes, tightening disposal capacity, and increasing costs are reshaping production economics and investment priorities. At the same time, emerging links between produced water and AI infrastructure highlight new opportunities at the intersection of energy, technology, and sustainability.
Mercer Capital is pleased to announce the release of the 2025 Energy Purchase Price Allocation Study. This study researches and observes publicly available purchase price allocation data from companies primarily contained in one of the four sub-sectors of the energy industry: (i) exploration & production; (ii) oilfield services; (iii) midstream; and (iv) downstream. This study is unlike any other in terms of energy industry specificity and depth.
For this week’s post, we’re highlighting our whitepaper, “How to Value Your Exploration and Production Company.” The piece provides a comprehensive overview of the key factors that drive value in the upstream oil and gas sector, offering readers a clear framework for understanding how operational performance, reserve economics, and commodity pricing influence company worth. It also explores core energy valuation methodologies—including cash flow analysis, reserve-based approaches, and market benchmarking—to help executives, investors, and advisors navigate the complexities of assessing value in a constantly evolving energy market.
Appalachian production improved modestly over the past year, with steady drilling activity and enhanced infrastructure driving a 6% increase despite subdued natural gas prices. The Mountain Valley Pipeline’s completion provided much-needed takeaway capacity, improving flow reliability and narrowing basis differentials. Public operators like EQT and Range Resources led performance gains, reflecting a stabilizing investment environment as the basin moves toward 2026 with firmer fundamentals and growing exposure to LNG export opportunities.
Appalachian Basin deal activity may be quieter, but strategic bolt-ons and creative financing are redefining how value is built in a cautious market.
Equity markets reward growth, but lenders value discipline. Viewing upstream performance through a credit analyst’s lens reveals how scale, costs, reserves, and prudent leverage drive both credit strength and enterprise value.
At Hart Energy’s 2025 A&D Strategies and Opportunities Conference in Dallas, two central themes emerged: the maturation of Tier 1 U.S. shale inventory and diverging dynamics between private and public players in dealmaking. The conference highlighted the evolving dynamics of the U.S. upstream oil and gas market. With Tier 1 shale assets maturing, private and public participants are behaving differently, and deal strategies have become more selective. Read more in this week’s post.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) brings sweeping changes to the U.S. oil and gas industry. By revising tax rules, restoring leasing predictability, and lowering royalty rates, the Act reshapes project economics and carries significant implications for valuation and long-term investment.
Mercer Capital has its finger on the pulse of the minerals market. The most recent Mineral Aggregator Valuation Multiples Study is now available.
Q2 2025 earnings calls reflected an industry still guided by discipline but open to opportunity. OFS providers and E&P companies alike reiterated their focus on returning capital to shareholders and preserving balance sheet strength, while also pointing to selective international and offshore growth initiatives. The result is a sector cautious about near-term pricing and activity levels in North America, yet strategically positioning for selective long-term expansion. Read more in this week’s post.
The Dallas Fed Q2 Energy survey highlighted the growing uncertainty and continued pessimism in management sentiments across the sector. Given the concerns shared about the future of the oil and gas markets, it is more important than ever for a potential seller to be able to provide potential buyers with a clear picture of the company’s capacity for generating cash flows. In this week’s post, we highlight the value of a Quality of Earnings (QofE) analysis in the transaction process.
The Q2 2025 issue of Mercer Capital’s Exploration and Production Newsletter focuses on the Permian. The Permian basin continues to serve as the centerpiece of the U.S. shale revolution. However, the basin will face challenges in the near future as rising water and associated gas content are contributing to increased production costs, leading to more cautious drilling plans for basin operators.
Americans have been and continue to be hungry for energy, in any effective form they can get it, renewable or not. While a majority of Americans still prioritize renewables in energy policy, a shift is taking place, mostly among younger Republican and Republican-leaning individuals, according to a recent Pew Research Study. In this week’s post, we detail how this has been changing since the end of Trump’s first term in office and what the future may hold for renewable energy.
The economics of oil and gas production vary by region. Mercer Capital focuses on trends in the Permian, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, and Marcellus and Utica plays. The cost of producing oil and gas depends on the geological makeup of the reserve, the depth of the reserve, and the cost of transporting the raw crude to market. We can observe different costs in different regions depending on these factors. In this week’s post, we take a closer look at the Permian.
While large-scale upstream M&A has dominated industry headlines, the mineral and royalty space has quietly sustained deal momentum over the past year. From high-profile corporate mergers to strategic bolt-ons and capital recycling plays, activity in the Permian Basin remains robust. Publicly traded royalty platforms are leveraging both equity and debt to consolidate top-tier assets, signaling a maturing market where scale, structure, and selectivity are reshaping the investment landscape.
Oil and gas analysts use many different metrics to explain and compare the value of an oil and gas company, specifically an exploration and production (E&P) company. The most popular metrics (at least according to our eyeballs) include EV/Production, EV/Reserves, EV/Acreage, and EV/EBITDA(X). In this post, we will dive into the EV/Production metric, and explore its most popular uses.
On June 3, 2025, Viper Energy, a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc., announced its plan to acquire Sitio Royalties in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.1 billion. The acquisition includes Sitio’s roughly 34,300 net royalty acres, 25,300 of which are concentrated in the Permian Basin. The Viper-Sitio merger represents a notable shift in strategy within a traditionally fragmented sector. It signals a move toward greater scale, operational leverage, and investor confidence in the royalty business model.
The energy industry is at a critical point, where producers must not only meet the ever-growing global energy demand resulting from population growth, industrialization, and the increasing electrification of uses, but also adapt to ever-changing environmental regulations and shifting societal expectations related to sustainable practices.
On June 4, 2025, Hart Energy hosted its annual Energy Capital Conference, which brought together capital providers and industry executives for an update on the funding that drives the oil and gas segment of the energy industry. In this week’s post, we recap how the conference reflected this crossroads in the industry and summarize key topics, including capital allocation and the outlook for M&A and LNG.
