After a cold start to the year, North American upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) activity heated up in the second quarter, with U.S. dealmaking alone hitting more than 40 deals valued at around $33 billion.

NGI

Energy data analytics expert Enverus on Monday issued its 2Q2021 report on U.S. exploration and production (E&P) activity. Finbrook Pte Ltd. also weighed in with its global M&A report for the second quarter, which included U.S. and Canadian transactions. 

Seven U.S. E&P transactions announced in the quarter were worth more than $1 billion, “the highest quarterly value total since 2Q2019,” according to Enverus. The number of transactions was tied for the most announced deals valued above $1 billion since 2014.

“Responding to investor pressure to operate more...