Global upstream M&A: 2023 review and outlook

Deal count posted its second-lowest annual total of the last two decades, ahead only of covid-struck 2020. Despite this, there were more billion-dollar-plus deals in 2023 than in any year since 2016. There were also four transactions with a consideration over US$10 billion – the joint-highest on record. As a result, deal spend climbed more than 250% year-on-year to its second-highest annual total. The Majors massively stepped-up upstream M&A activity in 2023. ExxonMobil and Chevron’s blockbuster takeovers of Pioneer and Hess headlined, but they weren't the only deals that the US Majors executed. The Euro Majors also made material moves. Access to capital may have stymied smaller companies and hampered asset transactions, particularly in H1. But by the end of the year, all eyes were on consolidation. Alongside the US Majors' deals, Occidental and Harbour announced huge takeouts of privately held CrownRock and Wintershall Dea. Reports suggest we’ll see more of the same in 2024.