Upstream mergers and acquisitions (M&A) had a banner year in 2023 in the oil and gas sector, with dealmaking reaching a whopping $192 billion total, according to the latest quarterly tally by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR).

While only $6 billion of those transactions were focused on natural gas, versus $186 billion in deals targeting crude oil, the 2024 gas M&A total has already topped last year with Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Southwestern Corp.’s $12 billion monster merger, said the EIR team.

The tie-up would unite two gas behemoths that produced a combined 7.9 Bcfe/d in 3Q2023.

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