The U.S. natural gas pipeline network is a complex system of pipelines that transport natural gas from production areas to consumers across the country. The pipeline network consists of three main types of pipelines: gathering pipelines, transmission pipelines, and distribution pipelines. Gathering pipelines are small-diameter pipelines that transport natural gas from production wells to processing facilities or larger transmission pipelines. Transmission pipelines are large-diameter pipelines that transport natural gas over long distances, sometimes across multiple states. Distribution pipelines operate at low pressure and are located in or near urban areas. They are often referred to as "utility pipelines" because they are typically owned and operated by local gas utility companies.

Diamondback Energy, an independent oil and gas company, has successfully completed the acquisition of Lario Permian, marking the closure of two major deals in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company purchased two private operators in the Midland Basin for approximately $3.3 billion.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has announced that it will receive $1.4 billion from INEOS Energy for the sale of its remaining Eagle Ford asset, just a month after selling its Brazos Valley assets for a similar amount. This brings the total value of Chesapeake's Eagle Ford assets to over $2.82 billion. The Oklahoma City-based company will continue to market its other Eagle Ford assets.

Vital Energy Inc. has made a significant acquisition, purchasing 11,200 net acres in Upton and Reagan counties, Texas. The deal, which involved a combination of cash and stock, was worth almost $214 million. This move comes shortly after the company's rebranding from Laredo Petroleum just one month ago.

To effectively manage ESG issues in O&G companies, a comprehensive approach is required, addressing multiple managerial issues. First, ESG considerations must be integrated into the corporate strategy, setting goals that align with business objectives, reflected in budgeting, capital allocation, and risk management. Accurate and efficient collection, management, and reporting of ESG data is necessary for identifying relevant metrics and indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and social impact indicators.

ESG considerations are becoming increasingly essential for companies operating in the upstream sector. Failure to address ESG concerns may result in financial and reputational risks, given the growing focus from investors, regulators, and other stakeholders. Companies must prioritize ESG performance and engage with stakeholders to address concerns and mitigate risks. By doing so, they can improve their reputation, attract investment, and contribute to a more sustainable future

On January 24 Independent E&P Arena Energy LLC acquired Cox Operating LLC's interests in the Eugene Island 330 and South Marsh 128 oil blocks. Cox Operating, based in Dallas, Texas, includes interests to Arena's existing ownership interest in the Gulf of Mexico fields, which it purchased from GOM Shelf LLC.

“Our view is in 2023 M&A picks up. There was some this 2022 year, but again, it was such a funky, weird macro world. We expect fewer surprises in 2023.” — Dan Pickering, Pickering Energy Partners. Modern companies in the world operate in a rapidly changing external environment, so the process of reorganization is one of the basic tools for solving the problem of adapting companies to new conditions. Recently, the number of Acquisitions and Divestitures in the oil and gas industry has been growing rapidly, i.e. it can be said that the market for these deals is dynamically developing.

On January 24, Matador spread the word that it will add oil- and gas-producing assets in Lea County, N.M., and Ward County, Texas, and some midstream infrastructure. Most of the acreage is strategically situated in Matador’s Ranger asset area in Lea County. The bolt-on includes about 18,500 net acres, 99% held by production, in the core of northern Delaware. The deal would also extend Matador’s inventory by 406 gross (203 net) drillable horizontal locations with prospective targets in the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, and Avalon formations.

More than 60% of all A&D deals by value are in US oil and gas companies. Despite their leading market position, U.S. fields are developing unevenly, and investors are quite cautious about investing in them at this stage. The top 5 oil & gas industry A&D deals in 2022 were concluded by Omega Acquisition, Tokyo Gas, Diamondback Energy, Suncor Energy, and IMM Private Equity. The main motives of oil and gas companies to carry out A&D transactions can be considered the achievement of the synergy effect, and the presence of fundamental shocks in the market.

Most companies have plans in place to identify and manage the normal operational risks of enterprise asset management (EAM). But, it is equally important to consider the potential emergence of ESG risks that a company may face. While predicting events such as hurricanes, pandemics, and regulatory violations is difficult, preparing for or mitigating the impact can avoid potentially devastating effects on an asset-rich organization, as well as its employees and shareholders. As a reminder, ESG investing looks at three elements: environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) issues, with stakeholders looking not only at the financial parameters of a transaction but also the non-financial parameters. For example, oil and gas companies should develop plans to restore power lines or pipelines after an earthquake or other natural disaster. These plans should describe procedures for how employees will access remote sites, which assets will be prioritized, what additional equipment will be needed, and how it will be obtained.

BP acquired renewable natural gas (RNG) provider Archaea Energy Inc. for $4.1 billion on December 28, marking a milestone in the growth of BP’s strategic bioenergy business. The acquisition, announced in October, was finalized following BP’s completion of regulatory requirements and Archaea obtaining shareholder approval.

The oil and gas industry has long relied on the recommendations of trusted experts to make key supply chain decisions. The growing popularity of Blockchain technology could significantly disrupt these relationships by providing an unbiased methodology for sourcing, tracking, and executing transactions on behalf of customers with transparent data sets across supply chain endpoints. Blockchain technology has already been used by many global companies in the last two years in various areas such as IoT (Internet of Things), smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies. It has enabled businesses to benefit from the inherent trust and transparency of the technology.

In order to sell its part of the sprawling Eagle Ford Shale acreage, Chesapeake Energy Corp. on January 18 concluded an agreement to trade its Brazos Valley region assets to WildFire Energy I LLC for $1.425 billion.

Talos Energy Inc. is closing its $1.1 billion purchase of private operator EnVen Energy. A special meeting for Talos’ stockholders to vote on the deal and other matters is set on February 8, according to a prospectus filed on January 11 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shareholders are being asked to approve the EnVen merger, which as the company considered in September would raise its Gulf of Mexico production up to 40%. According to a January 11 press release, Talos asserted that it anticipates closing the transaction soon after the meeting. Talos Energy Inc. supposes that adding EnVen would double its operated deepwater facility footprint, extending key infrastructure in existing Talos operating areas. More than 80% of the combined assets will be deepwater, with the company operating more than 75% of the acreage it holds interests in. Talos is one of the largest independent operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with production operations, prospects, leases, and seismic databases spanning the basin in both Deep Water and Shallow Water. The company aims to actively grow through a balanced focus on asset optimization, development, and exploration while also seeking to add to its portfolio through acquisitions and business development.

On January 3, Targa Resources Corp asserted that it is purchasing the remaining stake for $1.05 billion in cash from BlackstoneInc's energy unit in its Grand Prix NGL Pipeline that it does not already own. Targa, which is going to acquire a 25% stake from Blackstone Energy Partners, purchased 75% interest in the pipeline last year when it repurchased interests in its development company joint ventures from investment firm Stonepeak Partners LP for almost $925 million. The Stonepeak agreement also included 100% interest in its Train 6 fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and a 25% equity interest in the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline. Grand Prix has the capacity to transfer up to 1 MMbbl/d of NGL to the NGL market hub at Mont Belvieu. The same day Targa maintained the price of the Blackstone Energy Partners agreement, which is anticipated closing in the first quarter of 2023, representing roughly 8.75 times Grand Prix's valued 2023 adjusted EBITDA multiple.

On January 3, U.S. natural gas producer Rockcliff Energy from private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners was set to be sold to a unit of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. for roughly $4.6 billion, including debt. The all-cash agreement with Houston-based TG Natural Resources, which is 70% possessed by the Japanese energy firm, is decided to be claimed this month, according to anonymous resources, as the discussions were requested to be confidential. Castleton Commodities International (CCI) owns the rest of TG Natural Resources.

According to the company’s press release on December 19, Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (NOG) closed its announced deal with a private seller of non-operated interests in the Northern Delaware Basin for $131.6 million in cash. The acquisition was announced with a $13 million deposit in October and is the third Permian Basin acquisition since August, adding to NOG’s $400 million of Permian Basin acquisitions in 2022. The assets of 2,100 net acres are primarily operated by a private company Mewbourne Oil Co., with production anticipated to total almost 2,500 boe/d in 2023. Also, Coterra Energy Inc. and Permian Resource Corp. are operators of the assets. The assets contain high-quality, low breakeven development that is leveraged to some of NOG’s top operating partners, as our investors have come to expect.

After reaching record-high production in 2021, the Haynesville Shale seemed to have a quiet 2022, with a smattering of deal activity and attention seemingly focused more on LNG exports than production. Meanwhile, the indications are that the third-largest producing gas shale in the U.S. is growing up for a robust 2023 if commodity prices stand still. Top basin performers Chesapeake Energy, Southwestern Energy, Comstock Resources, Aethon Energy, and Rockcliff Energy II produced a combined total of 1.53 MMboe/d, 83 bbl/d of oil, and 9.2 Bcf/d of gas in the first half of 2022.

On December 15, Pipeline giant Williams made a deal to purchase MountainWest Pipelines Holding Co. from Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. for almost $1.5 billion including debt. Williams is paying $1.07 billion in cash and assuming $0.43 billion of debt to buy MountainWest, which comprises approximately 2,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline systems mainly situated across Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado.

On December 9, Crescent Point Energy Corp. announced a purchase and sale agreement to develop its core Kaybob Duvernay assets, which will bolt on production, the midstream infrastructure and technical data. With the deal, the company has committed more than US $1 billion to the play. Crescent Point, the Alberta-based company, is purchasing almost 65,000 net acres from Paramount Resources Ltd. for CA $375 (US $274 million) cash. The assets estimate more than 4,000 boe/d, 50% liquids, and include a gas plant, associated pipelines, water infrastructure, and seismic data. The acquired asset’s production consists of 35% condensate, 15% NGL, and 50% shale gas.

On November 16 Diamondback Energy Inc. decided to expand in the Midland portion of the Permian Basin with the acquisition of Lario Permian LLC in a $1.55 billion cash-and-stock transaction. The Permian operator announced another billion-dollar agreement to purchase FireBird Energy LLC, a private Midland Basin operator. In total, Diamondback is paying almost $3.3 billion to extend in the Midland Basin. When combined with the pending FireBird acquisition, Diamondback is increasing its Midland Basin footprint by roughly 83,000 net acres, is adding 500 high-quality drilling opportunities that compete for capital with the current development plan and is raising the 2023 production profile by almost 37,000 bbl/d of oil (50,000 boe/d).

2022 is almost over. Full of global uncertainty, it brought a lot of disturbance to the energy markets. It is a good opportunity to say that again and again we are proud of the U.S. energy industry. Despite all odds, this sector has shown remarkable growth in the past years. In the past decade, the industry twice faced dramatic price collapses and successfully navigated between global oversupply and insufficient demand situations. Even the unprecedented pandemic market disruption did not undermine the strengths and perspectives of the U.S. industry players. As of today, we enjoy historical production at its highest. More than 850 thousand wells are delivering steady production to domestic and foreign customers. More than 14,600 approved permits are soon to start producing. At Rextag, we track and analyze petroleum production data. If you want to explore production trends by basin, formation, operator, etc., learn more about our services here

On October 19, Shell USA completed the almost $1.96 billion acquisition of the master limited partnership. The company paid $15.85 in cash for every common unit representing limited partner interests in SHLX not held by Shell USA or its affiliates. A subsidiary of Shell USA has 269,457,304 SHLX common units or roughly 68.5% of SHLX common units.

A $3.0 billion cash definitive agreement to purchase the Eagle Ford assets of Ensign Natural Resources has been concluded by Marathon Oil Corporation on November 2.

FireBird Energy LLC, a private Midland Basin operator backed by RedBird Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, purchases Diamondback Energy Inc. in a cash-and-stock transaction estimated at almost $1.6 billion, according to a company release on Oct. 11. Moreover, Diamondback also unveiled an aim to sell not less than $500 million of noncore assets by year-end 2023, with proceeds earmarked for further debt reduction, to support the Midland, Texas-based company’s pledge to reward shareholders.

Talos Energy Inc. is acquiring EnVen Energy Corp. for $1.1 billion to raise Talos’ Gulf of Mexico production by 40%. The purchase of EnVen, a private operator, increases Talos' operated deepwater facility footprint 2 times, expanding key infrastructure in existing Talos operating areas. Almost 80% of the assets will be deepwater, with Talos operating more than 75% of the acreage it holds interests in. During a conference call on September 22, it was announced that the EnVen purchase “just checks a lot of boxes” in terms of scale, assets, similar strategies, and what Talos is doing from a technology standpoint. EnVen holds 78 MMboe of 2P reserves and 420,000 gross acres in the Gulf of Mexico. The deal also includes about 24,000 boe/d to Talos’ production stream. Consideration for the transaction consists of 43.8 million Talos shares and $212.5 million in cash, plus the assumption of EnVen's net debt upon closing, currently valued to be $50 million at year-end 2022.

Houston-based company Momentum Midstream LLC on September 22 purchased Midcoast Energy LLC’s East Texas business from an affiliate of Arc Light Capital Partners LLC and Align Midstream LLC from Tailwater Capital and claimed that it establishes a leading presence in the Haynesville Shale. New Generation Gas Gathering or NG3 project will collect natural gas produced in the Haynesville Shale for re-delivery to premium Gulf Coast markets, including LNG export. Moreover, the NG3 project includes a carbon capture and sequestration component that will eliminate 100% of the CO₂ and accumulate it underground for a long time, creating a net negative carbon footprint. With the combined assets of Midcoast ETX and Align Midstream, Momentum is currently delivering volumes of more than 2 Bcf/d for a diverse customer base composed of producers, utilities, end-users, and LNG exporters. Momentum’s footprint in the Haynesville includes about 3,000 miles of gathering pipelines, 1.5 Bcf/d of treating capacity, 700 MMcf/d of processing capacity, 200,000 HP of compression, and 820 miles of pipelines transporting gas to the Gulf Coast markets in southeast Texas and the Carthage and Bethel markets in East Texas.

On August 31 Ring Energy Inc. purchased privately-held Stronghold Energy, adding operations that are mainly situated in Crane County, Texas, in the Permian Basin’s Central Basin Platform. According to a September 1 Ring Energy release, this transaction fully complements the conventional-focused Central Basin Platform and Northwest Shelf asset positions in the Permian Basin. The majority owned by Warburg Pincus LLC, Stronghold’s operations are concentrated on the development of about 37,000 net acres situated mainly in Crane County. In July Ring Energy entered into an agreement to buy Stronghold Energy II Operating LLC and Stronghold Energy II Royalties LP for $200 million in cash at closing and $230 million in Ring equity based on a 20-day volume weighted average price. Consideration also involved a $15 million deferred cash payment due six months after closing and $20 million of existing Stronghold hedge liability increasing the total transaction value to $465 million. Stronghold’s asset base is almost 99% operated, 99% working interest, and 99% HBP. In July, Ring announced the current net production of Stronghold’s asset base was approximately 9,100 boe/d (54% oil, 75% liquids).

Shareholder’s payout target was increased by 50% after the largest U.S. independent oil producer surpassed Wall Street’s earnings estimates on growing energy prices, said Houston-based Conoco Phillips Co. on Aug. 4. Due to Western sanctions on major producer Russia throttling energy supply amid a rebound in demand from pandemic lows, oil and gas #prices have soared. Crude has been trading more than 25% higher since the start of the year and results also benefited from high natural gas prices. Meanwhile, shares were down a fraction, to $91.03, in early trading but are up about 26% year to date. Conoco Phillips stated, that the average price obtained for a barrel of oil and gas accelerated 77% from a year earlier to $88.57. The company acknowledges that it has not hedged any of its oil and gas sales to make the most of higher market prices. The capacity of 1.69 million boe/d was in line with Wall Street estimates, however, the company expected the current quarter’s output would be between 1.71 million and 1.76 million boe/d.

California oil joint venture, Aera Energy, of Exxon Mobil Corp. and ShellPlc is being sold to German asset manager IKAV, according to the agreement of Sept. 1. Shell noted that the sale of its 51.8% membership interest in Aera Energy is for a total consideration of about $2 billion in cash with additional contingent payments based on future oil prices, subject to regulatory approval. However, the total transaction value was not disclosed. Being one of California’s largest oil and gas producers, Aera Energy accounts for nearly 25% of the state’s production. The sale by Exxon Mobil and Shell ends a 25-year-long partnership in California, meanwhile, it persists a streak of divestments of mature oil and gas properties by the two supermajors. Aera Energy LLC operates about 13,000 wells in the San Joaquin Valley in California, producing oil and associated gas. In 2021, Aera took out about 95,000 boe/d. Exxon Mobil’s interests in the Aera oil-production operation in California contained a 48.2% share of Aera Energy LLC and a 50% share of Aera Energy Services Co. held by Mobil California Exploration & Producing Co. Moreover, Exxon Mobil affiliates have signed a separate agreement for the sale of an associated loading facility and pipeline system. The sale effectively ends Shell’s upstream position in California. The company reported that the divestiture is valued to result in a post-tax impairment of $300 million to $400 million, subject to adjustments.

The completion of the merger between Centennial Resource Development Inc. and Colgate Energy Partners II LLC happened on Sept. 1, sealing the debut of Permian Resources Corp., which is considered the largest pure-play E&P company in the Delaware Basin. Permian Resources’ idea was to combine two successful E&P companies, creating a better, stronger, and more strategically compelling company. Centennial and Colgate announced an agreement to merge in May, denying rumors that Colgate, a privately held independent Midland-based company, had been seeking an IPO. The merger estimated Colgate at about $3.9 billion and consists of 269.3 million shares of Centennial stock, $525 million of cash, and the assumption of approximately $1.4 billion of Colgate’s outstanding net debt. Permian Resources, being the combined company, has a deep inventory of “high-quality” drilling locations on around 180,000 net acres the companies anticipate will provide more than $1 billion of free cash flow in 2023 at current strip prices, in accordance with the company release on Sept. 1.

TC Energy Corp. had reached a deal with a Mexican state utility to build a $4.5 billion natural gas pipeline, according to a company release on Aug. 4. The natural gas to Mexico's central and southeast regions will be furnished by the 1.3 bcfd offshore Southeast Gateway Pipeline, the Canadian pipeline operator said. Due to the most serious trade spat with #Mexico over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Canada and the United States made the deal with Comisión Federalde Electricidad (CFE). TC Energy and CFE in conjunction with the alliance also took the final investment decision (FID) on the 715-km Southeast Gateway. The pipeline will serve southeast Mexico, starting onshore in Tuxpan, Veracruz, then proceeding offshore, making landfall at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and Dos Bocas, Tabasco.

Williams said on Aug. 8, that it concluded an agreement to support the selling and transportation of certified, low emissions next-gen natural gas from PennEnergyResources LLC. According to the deal, Williams will construct a marketing portfolio to market the natural gas to utilities, LNG export facilities, and other facilities which can efficiently use clean energy. Moreover, the agreement involves a certification process that verifies best practices are being followed to reduce emissions and produce natural gas in an environmentally responsible manner collaborating with an independent third party. The partnership with PennEnergy is a continuation of Williams' strategy to collect, market, and deliver low-carbon natural gas to the end user from the wellhead. PennEnergy’s 378 production wells in southwest Pennsylvania supply the US with natural gas and they have achieved Platinum status from Project Canary’s TrustWell certification.

Earthstone Energy Inc., based in Texas, announced the transaction on June 28: the acquisition of Titus Oil&Gas which will raise production in the Delaware Basin by 26%. The $627 million acquisition fills the Permian Basin in Eddy and Lea counties, N.M. with 86 net locations on 7,900 net acres of leasehold, while it is not clear how much of the leasehold might be on federal acreage It is Earthstone’s seventh acquisition since 2021, a span that includes the closing of approximately $1.89 billion in acquisitions in the Permian Basin. The purchase of Titus Oil & Gas Production LLC and Titus Oil & Gas Production II LLC, privately held companies backed by NGP Energy Capital Management LLC, is estimated at $575 million in cash and it is the equivalent of $52 million in stock (3.9 million shares of its Class A common stock based on the June 24 closing price). Titus shared that its net production in June was 31,800 boe/d. The company had reserves of approximately 28.9 MMboe. Earthstone is sure its net production will increase, at the midpoint, by 20,500 boe/d (65% oil) in the fourth quarter.

Undisclosed industry sources said that THQ Appalachia I LLC (Tug Hill and Quantum Energy) is seeking a sale of the U.S. natural gas producer for more than $5 billion, including debt. Mainly operating in the Marshall and Wetzel counties in West Virginia, THQ Appalachia has net production of around 760 MMcf/d. Despite volatility in commodity markets which has made the valuation of energy producers tougher, THQ Appalachia is anticipating more than $5 billion due to the worth of its existing production and the possible value of its undeveloped acreage, the sources said on June 17. Additionally to purchasing THQ Appalachia, possible bidders in the sale process also have the opportunity to buy XcL Midstream, the pipeline firm that moves the company’s gas to market and has the same CEO as in Tug Hill. If the same buyer chooses to purchase XcL, the deal consideration will increase further. However, the anonymous sources admitted that the sale depends on the market conditions and is not guaranteed since Tug Hill and Quantum could ultimately decide to retain some or all of THQ Appalachia and XcL’s assets. Tug Hill and Quantum refused to comment on these statements and XcL did not respond to a comment request.

According to CheniereEnergy’s board of directors announcement on June 22, the company declared the further expansion of its CorpusChristi, Texas. Moreover, the LNG plant could come sooner than expected due to the announcement of a final investments decision (FID) related to Stage 3 Liquefaction Project work at the export facility. It will ensure the capacity to ship 10-plus million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 7 midscale trains. Furthermore, TudorPickering, Holt & Co. (#TPH) declared on June 23, that the possible ultimate capacity of the facility could be in the 11-12 mtpa range given 10.7 mtpa of long-term contracts have been signed with companies such as CPC, PGNiG, Sinochem, Foran, ENGIE, Apache, EOG and ARX CN. Additionally, Cheniere announced two sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) with #ChevronCorp.: Firstly, Chevron will obtain 1 mtpa of LNG from Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC with deliveries considered to start in 2026. Deliveries will reach full capacity in 2027 and expire in mid-2042. Secondly, Chevron will obtain 1 mtpa of LNG from Cheniere Marketing LLC with deliveries considered to start in 2027 and continue for about 15 years. The purchase price for the LNG under both SPAs will be indexed to the Henry Hub price, plus a fixed liquefaction fee as Cheniere claimed. Since the expansion will have been completed, Cheniere’s aggregate nominal production capacity will be increased to more than 55 mtpa by the end of 2025 compared to 45 mtpa now. It will become a part of the industry-wide decarbonization movement away from coal and oil as this allows Cheniere to provide the global market with additional low-carbon fuels. First exports from the facility are anticipated in 2025.

Around 25,000 net acres in the Permian are being sold by Percussion Petroleum II, looking to fetch up to $1.5 billion, as some sources bet on rising oil prices to pocket more than double what it paid in 2021. The company spent $375 million plus contingent payments a year ago to buy the bulk of its assets in one of the most prolific crude-producing areas in the U.S. from Oasis PetroleumInc. The oil prices increased to triple digits and buyers wanted to gain a toehold in the basin, whereas backers of private shale companies such as Percussion use it as a chance to exit their investments with big profits. Remarkably, U.S. crude oil futures have grown about 50% to approximately $109/bbl since June 29, 2021, when Percussion closed its deal with Oasis.

On June 16 Targa Resources Corp. decided to acquire Lucid Energy Group, located in the Permian Basin, which is a part of Riverstone Holdings LLC and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Firstly, Targa enlarged due to the recent “blot-on” acquisition of Southcross Energy in the Eagle Ford for $200 million and it will become bigger thanks to the $3.55 billion cash transaction. Targa’s financial position allowed it to utilize convenient opportunities to extend its company so it bought #Lucid using available cash and debt with an estimated pro forma year-end 2022 leverage around 3.5 times. According to Targa’s estimates, the acquisition of Lucid will increase the number of natural gas pipelines by 1,050 miles and add about 1.4 Bcf/d of cryogenic natural gas processing capacity in service or under construction located mainly in Eddy and Lea counties of New Mexico. The investment-grade producers source approximately 70% of current system volumes. According to the press release, a full-year standalone adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $2.675 billion and $2.775 billion and reported year-end leverage ratio of about 2.7 times. Targa’s updated financial expectations assume NGL composite prices average $1.05 per gallon, crude oil prices average $100/bbl, and Waha natural gas prices average $6 per MMBtu for the remainder of 2022.

Your team’s ESG performance can be greatly improved applying the asset co-location analysis within upstream or midstream use cases. This has been a topic for a discussion at Rextag’s ‘Is ESG Improvement Next Door?’ webinar. We reviewed some cases like curbing gas flaring or renewable energy sourcing to power the fossil fuel infrastructure. Many combinations are available with access to the data Rextag provides on wells, acreages, power lines, substations, and such renewable infrastructure as wind turbines, methane landfills, etc.

Canadian heavy crude, being deeply discounted for several years due to a lack of pipelines, is eventually trading like a “North American” grade, moving in tandem with U.S. sour crudes sold on the GulfCoast thanks to Enbridge’s expansion of its 3 pipeline late last year. Meanwhile, the Gulf is full of sour crude over Washington’s largest-ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that will amount to 180 MMbbl during six months, trying to tame exorbitant fuel prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The market is flooded with millions of barrels of sour crude from storage caverns in Louisiana and Texas. At the world’s biggest heavy crude refining center, U.S. Gulf Coast, heavy grades like Mars and Poseidon are languishing. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, Canada exports around 4.3 MMbbl/d to the United States, whereas until last year demand to ship crude on export pipelines increased capacity, leaving barrels bottlenecked in Hardisty.

On June 5 China Gas Hongda Energy Trading Co. Ltd. has made an LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Energy Transfer LNG Export, LLC concerning its Lake Charles LNG project. In the course of the 25-year contract, Energy Transfer LNG will provide 0.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to China Gas on a free-on-board basis. The purchase price is indexed to the Henry Hub benchmark plus a fixed liquefaction charge, with first deliveries expected as early as 2026. Being a premier natural Chinese gas distribution company, China Gas enchants Energy Transfer LNG to sign the 25-year LNG offtake agreement. From the direction of ChinaGas, it will be a significant step along the way to realizing China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals as it is their first long-term agreement.

Despite the circulating rumors concerning Colgate’s attempt to launch an IPO, on May 19 the company decided to combine with Centennial Resource Development Inc. This merger of equals is estimated at $7 billion and will found the biggest pure-play E&P company in the Delaware Basin of the Permian. The transformative combination essentially enlarges companies’ potential and hastens the growth across all financial and operating metrics. According to Centennial CEO Sean Smith, the combined company is anticipated to furnish shareholders with quickened capital return program due to a fixed dividend coupled with a share repurchase plan. Due to a recent report, the merger would increase production 7%, to 145,000 boe/d by the fourth quarter would further ratchet up next year. By third-quarter 2023, the company predicted 160,000 boe/d based on a drilling program of 140 wells per year. Colgate Energy was reported to be getting an IPO last December that sources said would value the company at approximately $4 billion. The combined company will have over 15-years of drilling inventory, assuming its current drilling pace, the companies will produce over $1 billion of free cash flow in 2023 at current strip prices.

Below is our webinar review of what Rextag is. Being a division of Hart Energy, Rextag is aimed at providing data services. You should be already familiar with Hart Energy conferences and publications about oil and gas basins, etc. What we want to show are the use cases of our clients, what our product is, how it is used, what data services are there, and some of the key scenarios, that our customers shared with us. We licence the data by datasets (the ones you see on the left pane within the Energy DataLink application. Our customers can licence access to the data based on the folders (or modules) here. e.g. Upstream oil and gas, and other modules below. So if you are an operator who works on Upstream or Midstream assets or you are interested in them you would licence both the Upstream dataset and respective midstream datasets. They are delivered to the customers in different ways. If you are familiar with GIS databases or SQL you can consume the data in those forms or set up web services connection to your cloud database. If you do not need to save the raw data on your computer, you can access our web application that you now see in the video. If you are a software developer or a product developer within your organisation you can use this information via API access to embed it inside your application. Also, we licence the data for an unlimited number of users for this application.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Enterprise Products Operating will partner in order to provide services to carbon emitters from Houston to Port Arthur, Texas, due to the development of CO2 transportation and sequestration. Enterprise would develop the CO2 aggregation and transportation network utilizing a combination of new and existing pipelines along with its expansive Gulf Coast footprint. The partnership’s assets include more than 50,000 miles of pipelines; over 260 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity.

Under the agreement, Energy Transfer will sell its 51% interest in Energy Transfer Canada to the Pembina-KKR joint venture, for more than CA$1.6 billion (US$1.3 billion) including debt and preferred equity. KKR's funds already own the remaining stake. TC’s assets include 6 natural gas processing plants with a combined operating capacity of 1.29 Bcf/d and an 848-mile naturalgas gathering and transportation network in the Western Canadian Sedimentary (WCS) basin. While this process is underway, Pembina and KKR will combine their Western Canadian natural gas processing assets into a single, new joint venture entity — Newco, owned 60% by Pembina and 40% by KKR. This new entity is expected to have a natural gas processing capacity of about 5 Bcf/d or about 16% of Western Canada’s total processing capacity.

Great Western Petroleum's assets will be acquired by PDC Energy for $1.3 billion. Via this deal, PDC Energy’s position in the D-J basin increases roughly to 230,000 net acres. Denver-based Great Western has core operations in Weld and Adams counties in Colorado with 54,000 net acres and about 55,000 boe/d (42% oil / 67% liquids) of PDP. As part of the agreement, the acquisition will be financed by issuing 4 million shares of common stock to existing Great Western shareholders and by providing $543 million in cash to the company. All in all, PDC expects to increase its total production by 25% and its oil production by 35% as a result of the deal. The deal should also result in some synergies including a 15% reduction in overall cost per BOE.

With the purchase of Renewable Energy Group Inc. for $3.15 billion, Chevron makes its largest investment in alternativefuels. This turn in investments highlights the shift in the world’s attitude toward climatechange. Since oil companies contribute heavily to global #emissions, governments and investors are increasingly urging them to reduce their #carbonfootprints and join the fight against emissions. As state and federal subsidies to decarbonize fuels increase, U.S. refineries have likewise increased the production of renewable diesel. In line with this, by 2050, Chevron aims to cut gas emissions to zero.

As part of its effort to expand its Montney Shale play, Vermilion Energy Inc. recently acquired Leucrotta Exploration Inc. for a net cash purchase price of CA$477 million. Vermilion has identified 275 high-quality, high-return, low-risk multi-zone drilling prospects. Top management believes, these prospects represent 20 or more years of low-risk, self-funding, high-deliverability shale drilling. Assuming the anticipated May closing date, Vermilion is increasing its capital budget for E&D in 2022 to $500 million and increasing guidance for production from 86,000 to 88,000 boe/d to take into account the Leucrotta acquisition.

Crescent Energy closed the acquisition of Uinta Basin assets in Utah that were previously owned by EP Energy for $690 million, a few hundred million dollars below the original price. The accretive deal increases Crescent's Rockies position and adds significant cash flow and a portfolio of high-quality oil-weighted undeveloped sites. In addition to its acquired Uinta assets, Crescent's pro forma year-end 2021 provided reserves totaled 598 million boe, of which 83% was developed, 55% was liquid, and its provided PV-10 was $6.2 billion.

Exxon Mobil Corp. is weighing prospects of selling its assets in North Dakota’s Bakken, after gauging interest from potential buyers — 5 billion is the issue price, at least according to rumors. The price point came about after the news that the oilgiant is in the final round of hiring bankers to help launch the sale. Yet Exxon Mobil itself stays tight-lipped regarding the situation.

Canada is looking at ways to increase pipeline utilization to boost crude exports as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian oil At the moment, oil exports from Canada to the U.S. are approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day, with a portion reexported to other countries. At the end of 2021 Canadian oil companies exported a record amount of crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, mostly to big importers India, China, and South Korea. And this will only increase in the future.

In light of the conflict in Ukraine, buyout firms are currently scurrying to make cash from the U.S. crudeprices reaching their highest level since 2008. And one of the largest privately-owned US-based oilproducers may be up for sale. EnCap Investments looks to sell its portfolio company Ameredev II for over $4 billion including debt. It’s important to note, however, that both EnCap and Ameredev II alike are staying tight-lipped on the matter.

By purchasing the gathering and processing assets of Trace Midstream, Williams' existing footprint gains expanded capacity in one of the nation's largest growth basins, bringing its Haynesville gathering capacity to over 4 Bcf/d — increasing more than 200% from 1.8 Bcf/d. The deal also includes a long-term commitment from Trace and Quantum to support Williams' Louisiana Energy Gateway project (LEG), which is aimed to deliver responsibly sourced Haynesville’s naturalgas to markets along the Texas and Louisiana GulfCoast

Looks like Pine pulled the plug on its properties in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, and Harrison and Panola counties, Texas. Which includes a total of 12,500 acres and ownership interests in 10 operated wells with a production capacity of 100 million cubic feet per day along with 18 miles of naturalgas gathering pipelines. Did Pine just give up on Haynesville?

Devon Energy Corp. believes that the Anadarko Basin is a hidden treasure and aims to use its position in it to fuel a robust cash return model and establish itself as an industry leader in promoting ESG. This E&P company plans to drill 45 new wells in the Midcontinent by 2022, as well as to produce 600,000 boe/d across five operating basins, including the Eagle Ford Shale, Permian, Powder River, and Williston basins. And given that Devon's recent fourth-quarter results were better than Street estimates. It appears that they are doing something right, at least for the moment.

The ever-increasing demand for natural gas exports from the Gulf Coast started a race to further develop Permian Basin. Various companies, including Kinder Morgan and MPLX, are among those looking at building new pipelines in the region due to the demand spike. But Energy Transfer seems to edge past them into the lead since its project strikes as the most economical option for the basin outside of capacity expansions on existing pipelines and could essentially add 1.5-2 Bcf/d of transport capacity with just 260 miles of new pipe.

Evolution Petroleum just spend a fortune on Jonah’s Field right after acquiring Hamilton Dome Field in Wyoming. The price of the transaction is $29.4 million. The Houston-based company aims to diversify into natural gas assets, providing access to the western markets through the Opal market hub, with the optionality to flow to the east. That transaction took effect on February 1. We anticipate closing on or about April 1.

The crux of the matter is rather simple: productivity gains of local energy operators have been stable not only because they are drilling better acreage, but also because players finally realized capital efficiency gains. And even if some new obstacles impede Appalachia's growth at the same rate as the Permian or Haynesville, it does not detract from the value of the Marcellus and Utica basins. The Appalachians will still be the top producers at a very competitive pace as long as commercial inventory exists. After all, as long as there is commercial inventory, somebody will have to drill.

Colgate Energy is planning to float its shale oil producer in the Permian's Delaware Basin on the stock market. If successful, this IPO would be the first major U.S. oil producer offering since Jagged Peak Energy's IPO in January 2017. Looks like investors’ confidence in the sector is returning as U.S. crude prices hit their highest in seven years late last year S&P energy index delivered roughly twice the return of the S&P 500 in 2021.

After probing the initial discovery of eight high-grade hydrocarbon reservoirs, Zephyr Energy estimates that up to 200 wells could be drilled, creating a potential resource of 125 million barrels of oil equivalent in the area. In an investor presentation, Zephyr said that gas rates may reach plateaus of 10 million square cubic feet per day and 500 boepd of liquids. Quite an impressive number. But The key to tapping in such potential lies in the development of hydraulically stimulated resources rather than treating them as natural fracture plays.

BPX Energy achieved an admirably low level of methane emissions, ranking among the best performing players in Haynesville Shale, around 0.05%! And MiQ awarded the company with an A grade certification. BPX very well may be one of the cleanest natural gas producers in all of Texas.

Uncertainty grows: as New Fortresses permit to ship LNG by rail expires, PHSMA explores temporal pausing of the method to provide more time to study safety-related issues. The news prompts one to wonder whether Fortress will proceed with its Pennsylvanian LNG project, in which it has already sunk about $159 million in development.

Permian Basins gas infrastructure boom: Summit Midstream puts into service a new pipeline system, aimed at reducing gas flaring in the area. Besides ecological concerns, the project will also transport almost 1,5 billion cubic feet of gas per day — enough to supply 5 million U.S. homes every day. According to Federal Energy Statistics, the project cost a whopping $450 million.

Williams boasts its Q3 results. With a revenue of $2.48 billion, the company beat the analyst estimate of $2.09 billion and also improved upon its own results over the same period in 2020. Mind you, much of this success was attributed to production in Wyoming's Green River Basin's Wamsutter Field and Williams JV with Crowheart.

Energy Transfer's lead in the world's NGL exports booked the company another successive quarter. With a global market share of almost 20%, the company is nigh unstoppable. But will it be enough to, finally, push the Mariner East project over the edge? If everything goes as planned, Mariner East's last segment could be operational by the end of the first half of 2022.

Enbridge Inc. finally delivered on several of its long-overdue promises, including the $4 billion Line3 Replacement project. Which consisted of replacing an existing 34-inch pipe with a new 36-inch one for 13 miles in North Dakota, 337 miles in Minnesota, and 14 miles in Wisconsin. Midstream companies, in general, had a stunning Q3. It was the first quarter in two years that no midstream index members cut their dividends.

Ironwood Midstream expanded its operations in the Eagle Ford region through its merger with Nuevo Midstream. Thanks to this, Ironwood II has increased its crude oil and natural gas throughput capacities in the famous shale to approximately 400,000 bbl/d and 410 MMcf/d, respectively. With 390 miles of pipelines, the company manages 245,000 acres of dedicated land.

Sempra Energy would develop the 4.0-mmtpa Vista Pacifico LNG export facility located next to the company's Terminal for Refined Products in Topolobampo in a bid to provide gas from the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico to Asian markets. Once marketing begins, Sempra's management expects Vista Pacifico to be oversubscribed.

TC Energy splurged $0.8 billion on the project that targets emissions. Well, sorta. According to the idea, existing lines of the ANR Pipeline Company will be expanded to serve markets in the #Midwestern US and simultaneously updated to reduce discharge by 30,000 metric tons CO2e per year - equivalent to removing almost 7000 cars from the road annually. Remarkable goals. With the current timeline, the project will be fully operational by the end of 2025, thanks to long-term transportation agreements secured by ANR.

Texas Cheniere and Swiss Glencore had entered into a free-on-board agreement for approximately 0.8 million tonnes of LNG per annum, starting in April 2023 for 13 consecutive years. This SPA demonstrates the commercial momentum Cheniere has been enjoying and marks an important milestone, as the company lays the groundwork for a final investment decision on Corpus Christi Stage 3, which is expected to occur next year.

Superior Pipeline Co. was successful in its purchase of natural gas gathering and processing assets in central Kansas. These assets consist of a 1,620-mile gathering system and an 85 MMcf/d cryogenic processing plant. No financial details of the deal have been disclosed as of yet. In a bid to amend this top-secret, we narrowed the circle of likely suspects to Durango and Tenawa. Let’s turn to the pipeline maps for further investigation.

Crestwood & Oasis Midstream merge to create a top Williston #basin player. $1.8 billion deal is expected to close during the Q1 of 2022. The transaction will result in a 21.7% ownership stake for Oasis in Crestwood common units. The remaining ownership of Oasis in Crestwood will also be of benefit to the company since it will create a diversified midstream operator with a strong balance sheet and a bullish outlook after this accretive merger.

TC Energy, the Canadian gas giant, recently announced its environmental, social, and governance goals, as well as emission reduction strategies. The company aims to become 100% emission-free by 2050 while promising to cut greenhouse gas emissions intensity from its operations by 30% by 2030 as an interim measure.

Diamondback Energy is willing to sell some of its Permian Water Assets in order to reduce debt and ensure a steady oil supply through the end of the year. The brokered deal will bring the company some $160 million in cash. Consolidation seems to be the trend in the industry, but for how long?

New standards for carbon capture have been set in North Dakota earlier this month as NDIC greenlights Red Trail Energy’s project. The company will now be able to commercially capture, compress, and inject 180,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year into the Broom Creek Formation on its property for permanent geologic CO2 storage. This ensures that carbon dioxide can be stored safely for generations to come.

A good asset will not sit on the market for long. After a deal with Berkshire Hathaway fell through, Dominion Energy managed to secure another one for Questar Pipelines in a drop of a hat. And get that, it is better than the former one by more than half a billion! Although not everyone is happy with such decisions, it seems that even Carl Icahn’s complaints won't be able to sway Southwest Gas Holdings’ decision. Though we will have our eyes peeled in any case… If everything goes as planned, a $2 billion deal will be closed before the end of the year.

Comstock Resources decided to go through with asset divestment, selling its Bakken Shale actives for $150M to Northern Oil and Gas. The proceeds from these sales will be reinvested by Comstock Resources Inc. into the Haynesville Shale, at which point the company may acquire additional leasehold and fund drilling activities starting in 2022. Meanwhile, Northern clearly gunning for the pack leading position in the Texas shale play, but whether they succeed or not is remains to be seen.

Penn Virginia announced a rebranding to Ranger Oil on 6 Oct. following the close of the Lonestar acquisition. This Texas oil & gas giant reinvents itself anew, shifting its energy development in the lone star state towards safer and more efficient oil and gas operations. The company's consolidated assets now amount to over 140,000 net acres strategically positioned in the Eagle Ford play of south Texas, making it one of the biggest players. It is anticipated that the full rebranding will be complete by the year-end of 2021. For the full rundown of the situation visit our blog.

Pioneer Natural resources is looking to divest properties in the lone star state. According to Rextag, Pioneer’s Delaware assets on sale have a trailing 12 month production of just over 22 MBOE against a total Permian Basin production of almost 212 MBOE. (The sale, if it happens, will effectively lead to a 10% decrease of Pioneer’s asset base in terms of the previous year's production.)

Whitewater Midstream began commercial service of the Whistler Pipeline on July 1, 2021. Its operation will reduce natural gas flaring in the Permian. It will also facilitate the industrial and export operations of the Gulf Coast.

Energy Transfer LP plans to finish the final phase of its long-delayed Mariner East 2 NGL pipeline expansion in Pennsylvania in the third quarter.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Vine Energy Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Chesapeake will acquire Vine.

On July 12, 2021, Dominion Energy and Berkshire Hathaway Energy issued separate statements that the firm had put the intended sale of the Questar Pipeline Group on hold due to regulatory clearance issues.

NGL Energy Develops Its Portfolio of Wholesale Propane Business Assets. Bought From DCP