U.S. oil transactions reached $12.6 billion in the third quarter of this year, indicating an increase from $11.5 billion in the second quarter. This information is derived from a report by Enverus Intelligence Research. Trading activities in October have accelerated with two major public-to-public transactions: EQT's $13.8 billion acquisition of Range Resources and Crescent Energy's $4.2 billion purchase of Devon Energy's assets in the Eagle Ford field.
Transaction Details and Trends
Including these transactions, the total U.S. oil transactions in 2026 have reached $80.5 billion, significantly higher than the total for the entire year of 2025. In the third quarter, private-to-public transactions accounted for two-thirds of the disclosed value, as private equity sellers tend to exit when oil prices are high. The largest deal was Magnolia Oil & Gas's acquisition of WildFire Energy in the Eagle Ford field.
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Developments in Oil Fields
The Permian field accounted for about a third of the reported value, with sales of Birch Permian and Paloma Permian occurring in the Midland and Delaware basins. Additionally, since the purchase price of Continental Resources from FireBird Energy was not disclosed, this may understate the activity levels. In the Eagle Ford field, which is on track to reach its highest annual transaction value since 2018, buyers are attracted to the field due to the potential for reworking and completing old wells or drilling new wells with modern designs.
Andrew Dietmar, a senior analyst at Enverus, said: "Competition in transactions means that buyers cannot simply become winners by paying for specific inventories. They are assessing value beyond the base case, whether this includes emerging periods in the Permian field or rework potential in the Eagle Ford."
Despite low Henry Hub prices, gas transaction activities have not particularly decreased among international buyers. Azerbaijan's SOCAR has purchased a stake in Comstock Resources' assets, marking the latest in a series of international transactions in the Haynesville field, which is near the LNG corridor in the Gulf. In the third quarter, South Korea's POSCO International made its first upstream acquisition in the U.S. by purchasing non-operational assets from Chord Energy in the Marcellus field.
Overall, Enverus expects the transaction trend to continue as oil prices remain high. The Permian field still has some targets, and the Williston basin may see more activity. Additionally, the less concentrated Utica field has the most potential for major mergers among U.S. producers.
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