Statoil Foresees Further M&A | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
“World Oil” reports that Eldar Saetre, the Chairman of Norwegian producer Statoil, foresees more merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the wake of the Shell-British Gas deal. He feels that future M&A’s are especially likely if oil prices remain depressed. Currently, the biggest obstacle to more deals is the high valuation expectations of potential sellers. However, Saetre declined to elaborate as to Statoil’s deal strategy.
While the Shell-BG combination was the biggest deal in a decade, more are probably on the horizon, as producers look to reduce costs and restore profitability. Large companies are generally better positioned to withstand the current downturn and will likely take advantage of opportunities to acquire smaller operators. Likely targets in Europe are Tullow Oil and Ophir Energy. Domestically, Anadarko, Whiting, Marathon and EOG are potential candidates for M&A’s.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to http://www.worldoil.com/news/2015/4/17/statoil-chief-says-more-oil-deals-likely-after-shell-bg-merger .
