Never mind the massive deals—E&Ps have been hard at work on small-scale ground game M&A in shale plays around the Lower 48 this year. (Source: Shutterstock.com)
Ground game A&D might not steal headlines or standout in earnings calls—but E&Ps have been hard at work on small-scale dealmaking so far this year.
The past 12 to 18 months have been dominated by large-scale transactions, like Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion Pioneer acquisition and Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp.
But other E&Ps are quietly making strides on acre-by-acre deals, acreage swaps and other small-ball transactions to grow their positions.
Multi-basin operator Continental Resources spent $17 million on unbudgeted acquisitions and $19 million of minerals acquisitions attributable to Franco-Nevada during the first half of 2024, the company disclosed in an Aug. 5 regulatory filing.
Continental teamed up with mining firm Franco-Nevada in 2018 to form a minerals-focused subsidiary.
Though Continental was taken private through a $4.3 billion buyout by Harold Hamm in 2022, the company continues to file quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It’s not entirely clear where Continental added assets through the first half of the year. Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) data show that the company has been picking up leases in the Permian’s Midland Basin—including properties formerly held by Occidental Petroleum.
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Permian deals
Elsewhere in the Midland Basin, public small-cap E&P HighPeak Energy spent $7.4 million through the first half of the year to acquire undeveloped crude and natural gas leases.
The acquisitions are largely contiguous with its Flat Top and Signal Peak operating areas, HighPeak said.
HighPeak has developed a position in the northern Midland Basin, primarily in Borden and Howard counties, Texas.
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Permian Resources closed a larger $817.5 million acquisition of a Delaware Basin package from Occidental Petroleum, which included approximately 29,500 net acres and 9,900 net royalty acres in Reeves County, Texas.
But Permian Resources also bolted-on a smaller, 2,000-acre position in Eddy County, New Mexico, through the acquisition.
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Appalachia movement
Appalachia-focused E&P Antero Resources also made headway on organic M&A during the second quarter, allocating $21 million toward land acquisitions.
The company added approximately 3,500 net acres, representing 13 additional drilling locations at an average cost of around $750,000 per location, Antero said in second-quarter results.
The newly acquired locations more than offset the wells Antero turned to sales during the quarter. Antero plans to deploy between $75 million and $100 million on land acquisitions this year.
Antero placed 11 Marcellus Shale wells to sales during the second quarter; lateral lengths averaged 16,750 ft.
Meanwhile, Appalachia E&Ps EQT Corp. and BKV have raised capital through sales of non-operated Marcellus assets this year.
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