Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the Lower 48 upstream segment doubled year/year during the second quarter in terms of transacted value, with 20 deals totaling $24 billion, according to the latest tally by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR).

The figure was up from a comparatively sluggish $12 billion transacted during 2Q2022.

Dealmaking in 2Q2023 was dominated by private equity (PE) firms offloading assets to their publicly traded peers, mostly in the Permian Basin.

“The second quarter saw a thunderous return to Permian M&A after a relatively quiet start to the year,” said Enverus director Andrew Dittmar. “The need for public buyers to secure quality drilling inventory has been brewing, and the pressure to make a deal has been mounting as the remaining...