With WTI in the $50s, the life is being choked out of acquisition and divestitures (A&D). Budgets are also being slashed and a quarter of North American rigs may be mothballed in 2015.

Some deals already underway are being shelved. Potential buyers are shrinking from transactions. And sellers’ asking prices will vary widely with offers buyers throw out.

Deal makers will likely be opportunists with the wherewithal to pick off assets amid uncertainty or at distressed companies.

“Weak oil prices through 2015 will ratchet up the pressure on the most financially stretched in the sector,” said Luke Parker, principal analyst for Wood Mackenzie’s M&A analysis, in a December report. “Expect to see falling deal valuations and the emergence of a true buyers’ market.”

For instance, Sheridan Production Partners said in December it raised $1.5 billion in investment capital to buy U.S. onshore U.S. producing oil and gas properties—on the cheap.

Lisa Stewart, Sheridan founder and chairman, said falling petroleum prices create opportunities for the firm as companies seeking to pay down debt and “sell mature properties with predictable production that fit our successful business strategy.”

Wood Mackenzie said A&D won’t recover until a new consensus emerges perhaps three to six months after prices stabilize.

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