The appraisal of businesses involved in the refining of crude oil entails a number of challenges. Some are unique to the industry, and others are more common. The challenges arise primarily in two areas – assessing the level of uncertainty inherent in the entity’s future cash flows and forecasting the entity’s future operating results.
Appalachia and the Permian are responsible for much of the United States’ surging natural gas production, resulting in relatively low benchmark prices. However, difficulties capturing, storing, and transporting natural gas mean that large regional price differentials can occur.
While Appalachia price differentials have narrowed significantly, Permian pricing differentials have widened, often resulting in $0 or sometimes negative realized prices. Going forward, futures prices imply a modest widening of the Appalachia basis over time, while the Permian basis will not stabilize until 2021.
When it comes to the oil patch, the word “growth” can be a vague term. It’s a word that can be masqueraded around to suit the perspective of whomever utters it. What does it mean in an industry whose principle resources are constantly in a state of decline? When it comes to the Permian Basin these days, growth applies to resources, drilling locations and production. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for profits, free cash flow or new IPOs. Don’t misunderstand, the Permian is the king of U.S. oil plays and by some measures could be taking the crown as the biggest oil field in the world. However, various economic forces are keeping profits and valuations in check.
Brent crude prices began the quarter around $69 per barrel and peaked at nearly $75 in late-April before declining to just below $60 on June 12th, 2019. Prices have since increased to $65, with WTI continuing to trail by about $8 per barrel. In this post, we will assess global supply and demand factors that have caused these price fluctuations.
Operators in the Permian Basin have had to pay a premium to access the black gold mine, and companies are still lining up for a chance to get in on the action. While the industry as a whole has been moving into a period of rapid consolidation, a substantial portion of this acquisitive activity has been in the Permian.
Targets with highly contiguous holdings and acreage have been of particular note to acquirers in the Permian. While acreage continuity has not always been the most important aspect of a potential deal, it has certainly become more of a focal point recently.
In our prior two blog posts, we detailed the specifics of “what is” and “what are the characteristics of” an oilfield equipment/services company (“OFS”), and detailed the typical approaches and methodologies utilized in valuing OFS companies. This week, we’ll address some of the special considerations that must be given attention in the appraisal of OFS companies. Specifically, the challenges in forecasting the future operating results for an OFS company.
When valuing a business, it is critical to understand the subject company’s position in the market, its operations, and its financial condition. A thorough understanding of the oil and gas industry and the role of oilfield service (“OFS”) companies is important in establishing a credible value for a business operating in the space. Our blog strives to strike a balance between current happenings in the oil and gas industry and the valuation impacts these events have on companies operating in the industry. After setting the scene for what an OFS company does and their role in the energy sector, this post gives a peek under the hood at considerations used in valuing an OFS company.
This week’s post is the first in a series related to oilfield service companies. In this first post, we describe what an oilfield service company is, their place in the broader industry, and their key drivers.
The burgeoning mineral market is leading the way for an energy sector that has lagged in returns for several years now. For this week’s post, we highlight the ascension of the estimated $400 to $600 billion onshore mineral market in the U.S, a topic discussed last month at the DUG Permian Basin Conference in Fort Worth.
In this post, we will review the continued IPOs and valuation implications for the mineral aggregators market as well as examine Brigham’s operations and placement in this sector.
Will the Eagle Ford win the profitability fight with other basins? It may not have the scale or heft of the Permian, but its profitability punches are as strong as anyone’s.
Over the last 12 years the oilfield waste water disposal industry has grown exponentially, both on an absolute basis, and by rank of its importance/size among the oilfield services. This growth has been largely driven by the increased volumes of waste water generated in the production of oil from shale plays. This post discusses the basics of salt water disposal that has become so important given the rise of hydraulic fracturing.
The purpose of an endowment is to provide a permanent source of funding that maintains the operations of colleges, universities, churches, etc. To best serve its fiduciaries, an endowment should achieve the highest return possible. Congruently, when divesting, the endowment must ensure it achieved a fair price for its investments. This post does not weigh in on the discussion of whether endowments should or should not liquidate fossil fuels. Rather, we hope to educate and advise those who have decided to divest their fossil fuel assets and are unsure of how to proceed.
In previous posts, we have discussed the relationship between public royalty trusts and their market pricing implications to royalty owners. Many publicly traded trusts are restricted from acquiring other interests, so they have relatively fixed resources, and the value of these trusts comes from generally declining distributions. In many cases, the royalty comes from a related operator, though this is neither required nor characteristic of all trusts. There are also other MLPs such as Kimbell Royalty Partners, Viper Energy Partners, Dorchester Minerals, and Black Stone Minerals that are aggregators consistently gobbling up new acreage. In this post, we explore the subject characteristics of Permianville Royalty Trust, formerly known as Enduro Royalty Trust.
Nearly a quarter of the way through 2019, prices have rebounded somewhat after a tumultuous end to 2018. First quarter energy prices again moved in opposite directions, with crude prices increasing steadily over the period while natural gas prices decreased from $2.94 to $2.80 per Mcf by mid-March despite peaking at over $3.50 in mid-January.
Over the last twelve months, the Eagle Ford Shale region has experienced steady growth and healthy transaction activity. The region’s strengths, such as its low cycle times, high oil cuts and Louisiana Light Sweet crude and Brent oil pricing, has facilitated free cash flow and made the area attractive to both investors and operators.
Our whitepaper “How to Value Your Exploration and Production Company” provides an informative overview of the valuation of exploration and production companies. Because of the historical popularity of this post, we revisit it this week. This post helps you, the reader, understand how E&P companies are valued which may help you understand how to grow the value of your business and maximize returns when it comes time to sell.
Bryce Erickson recently attended the 2019 NAPE Expo in Houston, Texas. One of the repeated sentiments among several panelists was that valuations are currently attractive despite declining commodity prices and logistics constraints. If capital and resource supply are managed efficiently, it could align the strong upstream and midstream potential with cash flow reality.
Commodity prices exhibited significant volatility to end 2018 with steep declines in crude prices and a spike in natural gas prices that subsequently fell back. The general market also declined over the period, making it difficult to parse reasons for various stock price gyrations. While lower prices aren’t ideal for industry operators, earnings calls remind wary investors that there’s more to price than what trades on the NYMEX. Executives this quarter also note a shift in focus when it comes to capital outlays.
This week, we take a look at some of the earnings commentary of large players in the oil and gas space to gain further insight into the challenges and opportunities developing in the industry.
Mercer Capital is pleased to announce that J. David Smith, ASA, CFA has joined the firm and leads the firm’s Houston office.
A partnership is a business owned by two or more individuals. In its most basic form, a partnership typically falls into one of three categories: a general partnership, a joint venture, or a limited partnership. While the specifics of these three types can vary depending on the goals of the business, they all share similar features. For the purposes of this post, we will be examining benefits and rights we have come across in performing valuations over various types of partnership structures and their relation to value.
There are several indicators out there that are sending mixed messages for valuations in the upstream sector. They create a visual of what is happening and what could happen going forward. This post looks at a few of these indicators to gain clarity.
When valuing mineral interests, it is important to consider the nuances of the each type of mineral interest. Given that risk and asset values are indirectly related, it is important to keep in mind the various risk factors which pertain to the mineral interest. We’ll begin by examining the various risks surrounding both types of interests.
As we’ve discussed, there are plenty of factors to consider when determining the value of mineral interests. While some mineral owners may be very well attuned to decline curves and local pricing dynamics, others may only casually monitor the price of oil and gas to get a general sense of the trend in the industry. This post is geared towards those mineral interest owners who have less knowledge on the subject and should serve as a guide for those looking to learn more about what they own.
