There has been no 11-figure upstream M&amp;A since Devon Energy and Coterra Energy announced their $21.4 billion merger in early February, just a few weeks before the war on Iran started and the Strait of Hormuz was closed. But other, somewhat smaller — but still noteworthy — deals continue to happen.

Under the Radar – Big-Name M&A in Upstream Sector May Have Paused, But Big-Dollar Deals Continue

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Monday, August 10, 2026. Under the Radar, Big-Name M&A in Upstream Sector May Have Paused, But Big-Dollar Deals Continue. Published by Housley Carr. There has been no 11-figure M&A in the upstream space since Devon Energy and Koterra Energy announced their $21.4 billion merger in early February, just a few weeks before the U.S. and Israel initiated their coordinated attack on Iran and the Iranian government responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Others somewhat smaller, but still noteworthy, acquisitions have continued to happen. However, with their counterparties willing to move forward despite the uncertainties the Iran War and Hormuz closure have brought to global markets. In today's RBN blog, we'll look at a few of the largest upstream transactions happening under the radar in recent months. In the half-year since we examined the Devon Energy-Koterra Energy deal, we've looked at upstream M&A through two lenses, first with a focus on efforts by E&Ps to divest assets that weren't core to their

strategies and then, in a two-part series, by zeroing in on producer M&A in the Anadarko, a region that had long been out of the spotlight. Today, we discuss a handful of significant deals that have been announced during the on-and-off war with Iran. The standout transaction is Magnolia Oil & Gas's cash and stock acquisition of Wildfire Energy, which was announced on July 20 and is expected to close by mid-September.

Under the Radar – Big-Name M&A in Upstream Sector May Have Paused, But Big-Dollar Deals Continue

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Under the Radar – Big-Name M&A in Upstream Sector May Have Paused, But Big-Dollar Deals Continue

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.