美国油气并购交易凭借100亿美元新交易卷土重来

自2020年油价暴跌导致破产浪潮以来，美国油气行业在并购交易方面的态度已远不如以前积极 

今年第二季度，美国油气并购交易同比收缩65%，减少到120亿美元，由于价格波动较大，买卖双方不愿冒险进行交易

现在，由于美国最大的天然气生产商EQT斥资52亿美元收购THQ阿帕拉契亚公司和XcL中游公司的资产，以及西迪奥矿业公司与布里格姆矿业公司的合并，美国油气并购活动似乎再次升温 

据油价网9月10日报道，上两次能源危机使数百家美国能源公司面临破产的威胁，改写了油气行业的并购剧本。在此之前，石油和天然气公司在价格暴跌后进行了大量激进的战术收购或周期性收购，原因是许多不良资产价格低廉。然而，在2020年油价暴跌导致油价下跌的情况下，能源企业在进行并购交易时采取了更克制、更战略性、更注重资产环境的方式。因此，在上一波并购浪潮变成一场收购公司的灾难之后，石油巨头的高管们有些不愿出手，也就不足为奇了。 

根据能源分析公司Enverus发布的数据，由于大宗商品价格的高波动性导致买卖双方在资产价值上发生冲突，今年第二季度美国油气并购交易数同比收缩65%至120亿美元，远低于去年同期的348亿美元。

Enverus主管安德鲁·迪特马表示：“爆发地缘政治冲突后大宗商品价格飙升，导致并购交易活动暂时陷入停滞，因为买家和卖家在资产价值上存在分歧。”

Enverus报告称，美国私人股本公司的油气并购交易活动在第一季度大幅增加，因为它们购买了石油公司视为其开发计划非核心的资产。这些资产往往位于像西得克萨斯州和新墨西哥州的二叠纪盆地这样的产油区之外。 

迪特马尔表示：“私人股本仍有足够的资金进行交易。他们利用这一点来锁定被上市公司标记为非核心的资产。 一旦你走出二叠纪盆地的核心地区和其他几个关键地区，油气并购交易竞争就会下降，而这些头寸的价格通常对买家有利。尽管如此，私募股权仍是该并购交易领域的净卖家，而且考虑到未完成投资的数量以及资金已经部署了多长时间，在可预见的未来可能仍会如此。”

尽管如此，美国油气行业的并购交易活动依然活跃，能源行业高管仍在达成大量交易。以下是两个更值得注意的例子。

EQT斥资52亿美元收购竞争对手THQ 阿帕拉契亚公司和XcL中游公司资产 

今年5月，总部位于宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡市的美国石油和天然气生产商EQT公布了一项计划，通过大幅增加在阿巴拉契亚和本国页岩盆地周围的天然气钻探，以及管道和出口终端的能力，生产更多的液化天然气（LNG），EQT表示，这不仅将提高美国的能源安全，而且有助于打破全球对煤炭以及对产能大国国家油气的依赖。  

EQT正在迅速实现其LNG的雄心，EQT 9月6日宣布，已同意以52亿美元的现金和股票收购THQ 阿帕拉契亚公司的上游资产和XcL中游公司的油气集输和加工资产。

THQ阿帕拉契亚公司和XcL中游公司由私营天然气生产商Tug Hill Operating所有，由Quantum能源合作伙伴公司管理的基金出资支持。EQT透露，收购的资产包括90万英亩核心探区面积，抵消了其在西弗吉尼亚州现有的核心租赁面积，油气日产量为8亿立方英尺当量，预计在未来5年，在平均天然气价格高于1.35美元/百万英热单位的情况下，将产生自由现金流。EQT还将回购计划增加了一倍，至20亿美元，并表示将把到2023年底前的债务削减计划从25亿美元提高到40亿美元。

EQT一直是美国页岩行业最活跃的交易撮合者之一，在马塞勒斯页岩远景区附近收购资产和公司，以巩固其地位。 去年，EQT以29.2亿美元收购了竞争对手马塞勒斯页岩盆地生产商阿特拉资源公司。由于天然气价格飙升至10多年来的最高水平，EQT首席执行官托比· 赖斯的押注今年得到了回报。

西迪奥矿业公司将以48亿美元收购布里格姆矿业公司 

石油和天然气矿业和特许权公司西迪奥矿业公司将与布里格姆矿业公司进行全股票交易，企业总价值约为48亿美元，从而创建美国最大的上市矿业和特许权公司之一。  

这笔交易将成为今年美国石油行业最大的并购交易之一，而且交易正值油价上涨时期。

与业内其他公司一样，西迪奥矿业公司和布里格姆矿业公司也在油价上涨的背景下实现了收入和利润的快速增长。两家公司的合并将使新实体实现显著的规模经济，并成为矿权行业的领导者。 

合并后的公司将在二叠纪盆地和其他以石油为主的地区拥有互补的优质资产。合并后的公司将拥有近26万英亩探区面积，50口净视距井由资本充足、多样化的勘探开发公司运营，预计第二季度净油气日产量为32.8万桶油当量。  

这笔交易还有望带来每年1500万美元的运营现金成本协同效应。

西迪奥矿业公司和布里格姆矿业公司的股东将在全面摊薄的基础上，分别获得合并后新公司54%和46%的股份。西迪奥矿业公司最近公布的第二季度收入为8800万美元，净收入为7200万美元。

矿产所有者以特许权使用费的形式从开采到他们陆地上的石油和天然气中获得12.5%～20%的分成。它们不能控制开发的节奏，也不承担钻井作业或日常开支，这意味着它们直接从大宗商品价格高企中获益。 

李峻 编译自 油价网

原文如下：

Mergers And Acquisitions Are Back With $10 Billion In New Deals

·     The U.S. oil and gas industry has become far less aggressive in its approach to mergers and acquisitions since the 2020 oil prices crash that caused a wave of bankruptcies.

·     U.S. oil and gas dealmaking contracted 65% Y/Y to $12 billion last quarter, with buyers and sellers unwilling to risk committing to deals due to high price volatility.

·     Now, it seems the M&A space is heating up again as EQT spends $5.2 billion on THQ Appalachia and XcL Midstream’s assets, and Sitio Royalties merges withBrigham Minerals.

The last two energy crises that threatened hundreds of energy companies with bankruptcy have rewritten the oil and gas M&A playbook. Previously, oil and gas companies made numerous aggressive tactical or cyclical acquisitions in the wake of a price crash after many distressed assets became available on the cheap. However, the 2020 oil price crash that sent oil prices into negative territory has seen energy companies adopt a more restrained, strategic, and environment-focused approach to cutting M&A deals. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that Big Oil executives have been somewhat trigger-shy after the last M&A wave turned into a disaster for acquiring companies.

According to data released by energy analytics firm Enverus, U.S. oil and gas dealmaking contracted 65% Y/Y to $12 billion last quarter, a far cry from $34.8 billion recorded during last year’s corresponding period, as high commodity price volatility left buyers and sellers clashing over asset values.

"The spike in commodity prices that followed the war temporarily stalled M&A as buyers and sellers disagreed on the value of assets," said Andrew Dittmar, a director at Enverus Intelligence Research.

Enverus has reported that deals by private equity firms saw a significant uptick in the first quarter as they bought assets that oil companies deemed as non-core to their development plans. These assets tended to lay outside oil-prolific areas like the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

“Private equity still has dry powder for deals. They are using this to target assets being tagged as non-core by public companies. once you step out of the core of the Permian Basin and a few other key areas, competition for deals drops, and these positions are often available at buyer-friendly price points. That said, private equity is still a net seller in the space and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future given the number of investments outstanding and how long that capital has been deployed,” Dittmar has remarked.

Still, dealmaking in the U.S. oil and gas industry remains alive and well, with energy executives still cutting significant deals. Here are the more notable ones.

EQT Corp Buys Rival THQ Appalachia and XcL Midstream’s Assets For $5.2B

Back in May, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania oil and gas producer EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) unveiled a plan to produce more liquified natural gas (LNG) by dramatically increasing natural gas drilling in Appalachia and around the country's shale basins, as well as pipeline and export terminal capacity, which it said would not only boost the United States’ energy security but also help break the global reliance on coal and on countries as large producers.

Well, EQT is moving fast to realize its LNG ambitions: confirming earlier speculation, EQT Corp announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire THQ Appalachia's upstream assets and XcL Midstream's gathering and processing assets for a combined $5.2B in cash and stock, 

Owned by privately held gas producer Tug Hill Operating, THQ Appalachia and XcL Midstream are backed by equity commitments from funds managed by Quantum Energy Partners. CEO and founder of Quantum Energy PartnersWil VanLoh is expected to join EQT's board of directors after the merger. EQT has revealed that the assets acquired include ~90K core net acres offsetting its existing core leasehold in West Virginia, producing 800M cfe/day and expected to generate free cash flow at average natural gas prices above ~$1.35/MMBtu over the next five years. The company also doubled its buyback program to $2B and said it is increasing its debt reduction plan by year-end 2023 to $4B from $2.5B.

EQT has been one of the Shale Patch’s most active dealmakers, buying up assets and companies around the Marcellus in a bid to consolidate the company’s position. Last year, the company bought rival Marcellus producer Alta Resources for $2.92bn. EQT CEO Toby Rice’s bet has paid off this year as natural gas prices have soared to their highest levels in more than a decade. 

Sitio Royalties To Merge With Brigham Minerals In $4.8 Billion Deal

Oil and gas mineral and royalty company Sitio Royalties Corp. (NYSE: STR) is headed for a merger with Brigham Minerals (NYSE: MNRL) in an all-stock deal with an aggregate enterprise value of ~$4.8B thus creating one of the largest publicly traded mineral and royalty companies in the United States.  

The deal will become one of the largest tie-ups in the U.S. oil patch this year, and comes in a period of elevated oil prices.

Like the rest of the industry, Sitio and Brigham have seen both their top-and bottom-lines expand at a brisk clip on the back of rising oil prices. Combining the two companies will allow the new entity to achieve significant economies of scale and become a leader in the minerals-rights industry.

The merger will create a company with complimentary high-quality assets in the Permian Basin and other oil-focused regions. The combined company will have nearly 260K net royalty acres, 50 net line-of-sight wells operated by a well-capitalized, diverse set of E&P companies, and pro-forma Q2 net production of 32.8K boe/day. 

The deal is also expected to bring in $15 million in annual operational cash cost synergies. 

Sitio and Brigham shareholders will receive 54% and 46% of the combined company, respectively, on a fully diluted basis. Sitio Royalties recently reported Q2 net income of $72M on revenues of $88M.

Mineral owners receive a 12.5% to 20% cut of the oil and gas pumped on their land in the form of royalty payments. They don’t control the pace of development, but also aren’t on the hook for drilling or overhead costs, either, meaning they directly reap the benefits of high commodity prices.