M&A

The pending $5.3 billion merger of Ontario utility Hydro One Ltd. and Spokane, WA-based Avista Corp. has gained approval from the Montana Public Service Commission, leaving three regulatory approvals in Idaho, Oregon and Washington left to clear, which are expected this year. The combination, also approved by Alaska regulators, has gained all required federal approvals.

After experiencing a lull in the first half of this year, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) throughout the energy sector are going to pick up dramatically to the end of 2018, according to Austin, TX-based Drillinginfo.

Two of the leading natural gas buyers in the world, EDF Trading Ltd. (EDFT) and Jera Co. Inc., on Tuesday agreed to combine their worldwide trading activities to optimize liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketing.

Ascent Resources LLC announced on Friday that it would acquire 113,400 net Utica Shale acres for $1.5 billion in a package of deals with multiple sellers, ballooning the company’s position in the play to more than 300,000 net acres and becoming one of the country’s largest private exploration and production (E&P) companies in the process.

Following the lead of other pipeline operators that have brought into the fold their master limited partnerships (MLP) because of changes to federal law, Loews Corp. said it plans to take over subsidiary Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP for an estimated $1.5 billion.

Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc., whose predecessor company spent billions to establish a foothold in the U.S. offshore only to collapse into scandal and bankruptcy, on Monday agreed to be acquired by Cox Oil Offshore LLC for $322 million.

A relatively modest joint venture (JV) by two Mexican companies, both with huge financial and technical resources, could lead to a revitalized natural gas industry in a nation that now is dependent on massive imports from the United States.

Spokane, WA-based Avista Corp. and Toronto-based Hydro One Ltd. have settled regarding their proposed merger in Oregon and filed an all-parties, all-issues agreement with the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Customers in Oregon would receive rate credits effective at the close of the merger. The Oregon settlement and agreements in Washington, Idaho, Alaska and Montana would collectively provide $78.6 million in benefits to utility customers, according to Avista. No merger costs are to be recovered from customers in any of the states.

With record-level transactions in the first quarter, 90% of oil and gas executives expect global dealmaking to only improve in the coming months, up from only 43% in April 2017 that expressed confidence in more dealmaking.