Oil and gas industry deals slowed for much of last year. But money is starting to return, particularly in Texas, The Dallas Morning News reported. …
The report said that oil prices are nowhere near the old peaks, but they have reached the highest levels since 2015. Moody's Investors Service expects oil to stay in the $40 to $60 per barrel range this year. Their analysts said that price leaves room for strategic deals, with the "Permian Basin leading the way." ...
Kraig Grahmann, head of Haynes and Boone's energy finance practice group, said a change in priorities was one of the major factors in a slower 2017.
"The investors want to see the Permian players focusing their capital on drilling up that undeveloped acreage versus just acquiring more of it," Grahmann said. "Especially more of it at higher prices." ...
Overall, experts are predicting more activities as oil and natural gas companies continue to consolidate and look for efficiencies. …
"Companies have been increasingly focused on intensively studying a core [area] and focusing on that core," Grahmann said. "Now, it's a hyper-technical game. A company that has a strong position in a basin might try to acquire a company that is nearby and has a similarly strong position."
He said that's true of both oil and gas. …
Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News. To read the full article, click here.