US upstream oil and gas Q2 dealmaking falls to $9 bn amid volatility

Deal activity in the United States upstream oil and gas sector contracted sharply in the second quarter, falling fourfold to about $9 billion, according to analytics firm Enverus. The decline was driven by crude price swings linked to the Iran conflict and a softer gas outlook, which widened bid‑ask spreads and complicated valuations.

A record lease sale by the Bureau of Land Management in May accounted for roughly $4 billion of the total, selling drilling rights on 33,530 acres in Texas and New Mexico’s Permian Basin mainly to Devon Energy and Matador Resources. Shell’s June divestiture of its interest in the Na Kika platform and related Gulf of Mexico fields to Talos Energy and Ridgewood Energy contributed about $1.7 billion.

The quarter’s dealmaking value was the third weakest since 2020, with Brent crude futures fluctuating between $118 and $72 per barrel from April to June as the war in Iran disrupted global energy flows.