Energy Valuation Insights

A weekly update on issues important to the oil and gas industry

Marcellus and Utica Shale Mergers, Acquisitions, & Divestitures Special Topics

M&A in Marcellus & Utica Basins

Activity in 2021 Was Muted Relative to 2020

M&A transaction activity in the Marcellus & Utica shrank in number in 2021 relative to 2020. However, the relatively greater magnitude of production density represented by the transactions in 2021 could prove to be a bellwether of more “transformational” transactions to come in 2022 as companies stake their claim in the gas and gas liquids-rich basins of Appalachia. In this week’s post we review M&A activity in 2021 including the EQT/Alta Resources and Northern Oil and Gas/Reliance transactions.

Mineral and Royalty Rights

Mineral Aggregator Valuation Multiples Study Released

With Market Data as of November 29, 2021

Mercer Capital has its finger on the pulse of the minerals market.  An important trend has been the rise of mineral aggregators, which have largely supplanted the trusts as the primary method of publicly traded minerals ownership.

In this updated Study, 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.

Mineral and Royalty Rights Special Topics

Themes from Q3 Earnings Calls

Part 2: Mineral Aggregators

Themes in our Q2 mineral aggregator earnings calls digest included capital discipline by operators, expectations of a very favorable price environment, and increases in distributions to shareholders, resulting in an overall optimistic outlook for the sector.  This week we focus on the key takeaways from the mineral aggregator Q3 2021 earnings calls which addressed anticipated acquisition activity, production expectations, and whether or not the sector remains optimistic about the future.

Special Topics

Themes from Q3 Earnings Calls

Part 1: E&P Operators

The Q3 earnings calls for E&P operators continued the theme from Q2 – an oil and gas industry reaching a relatively steady operational state, with efficiencies offsetting cost inflation and helping lead to growth in free cash flow despite the tumultuous past 18 to 24 months. In the Q3 earnings calls, maintaining capital discipline with flat or low growth in production volumes was a point of focus as was E&P operators’ possible approaches to fortify their value proposition to shareholders. Check out this week’s post for details.

Special Topics

Sharing Growth & Spotlight

Natural Gas & Renewables Join the D-CEO Awards Stage in Dallas

Mercer Capital’s energy team sponsored and attended the D-CEO 2021 Energy Awards in Dallas earlier this week.  It was a great event and a good opportunity to connect with clients, peers, and industry leaders in the energy space.   Awards ranged from honoring top executives, including Scott Sheffield of Pioneer Energy, to private equity firm innovators like Pearl Energy Investments.

Thematically, the focus of this award dinner was the interdisciplinary threads between oil, natural gas, and renewables. 

Mergers, Acquisitions, & Divestitures Special Topics

Chesapeake Finds Vine Ripe for the Picking

In August, Chesapeake Energy Corporation announced that it would acquire Vine Energy Inc. in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion. We previously discussed Vine’s IPO, which was the first upstream (non-minerals, non-SPAC) initial public offering since Berry Petroleum’s debut in mid-2017. 

Vine’s decision to be acquired in a ~0% premium transaction less than five months after its IPO speaks to the difficulty for E&P companies to manage public market dynamics even in a much-improved commodity price environment. 

In this post, we dig into the transaction rationale, look at relative value measures, and analyze how this transaction seems to indicate a shift in Chesapeake’s strategy.

Special Topics

The Evolution of E&P ESG Scores

Trends from 2016-2020

In this post we take a brief look at several ESG criteria among E&P operators to see what trends may be present among the operators with the highest and lowest ESG scores, as provided by Global Market Intelligence.

Oil & Gas

Mercer Capital provides oil and gas companies, oil and gas servicers, and mineral & royalty owners with corporate valuation, asset valuation, litigation support, transaction advisory, and related services