A weekly update on issues important to the oil and gas industry
Regardless of whether a company files for Chapter 11, is party to an M&A transaction, or executes some other form of capital restructuring–such as new equity funding rounds or dividend recaps–one fundamental question takes center stage. Will the company remain solvent? This week we discuss the four tests that are used by professionals when performing a solvency opinion, and questions to consider for oil and gas companies.
The economics of oil and gas production vary by region. Mercer Capital focuses on trends in the Eagle Ford, Permian, Bakken, and Marcellus and Utica plays. The cost of producing oil and gas depends on the geological makeup of the reserve, depth of reserve, and cost to transport the raw crude to market. We can observe different costs in different regions depending on these factors. This quarter we take a closer look at the Eagle Ford.
M&A transaction activity in the Eagle Ford was fairly quiet throughout 2020 before Chevron’s $13 billion deal with Noble Energy. The Chevron-Noble Energy transaction and the Ovintiv-Validus deal could be foreshadowing a busier M&A market in 2021.
Volatile asset returns in the oil patch were commonplace last year. Those returns often got amplified in entities utilizing equity distribution waterfall allocation techniques. It all depended on the structure and how optionality was treated.
Mercer Capital has thoughtfully analyzed the corporate and capital structures of the publicly traded mineral aggregators to derive meaningful indications of enterprise value. We have also calculated valuation multiples based on a variety of metrics, including distributions and reserves, as well as earnings and production on both a historical and forward-looking basis. Check out our report in this post.
Last week, we reviewed the fourth-quarter earnings calls for a select group of E&P companies and briefly discussed the macroeconomic factors affecting the oil and gas industry. In this post, we focus on the key takeaways from mineral aggregators’ fourth-quarter 2020 earnings calls.
In this post, we capture the key takeaways from fourth quarter 2020 earnings calls from E&P operators.
Oftentimes differences are a matter of perspective. Put another way – one person’s loss can be another person’s gain. One of the thematic differences between producers and mineral owners is their perspective on “Held By Production.” It elicits very different reactions depending on what side of the term one is on, and has a leverageable impact on value. With rig counts dropping to around half of last year’s count, how much acreage will be available for re-leasing this year? In this post, we decided to spend some time exploring this concept and its impact on the energy industry.
Irrespective of what industry or sector a company may operate in, a fundamental question arises as mergers and acquisitions persist and company boards and management teams survey their options when a proposed transaction is put on the table: is it fair to all direct stakeholders? This post reviews the basics of fairness opinions and when you should obtain one.
The recent rise of oil prices is a welcome sign to mineral and royalty holders across the board. Low valuations may not last for much longer though. In the meantime, let us expound a bit on the forces keeping mineral and royalty valuations in their existing state.
