Enverus reports that the US upstream M&A sector rebounded in Q4, reaching $23.5 billion.

Enverus, an analytics firm, said that the U.S. Upstream Mergers and Acquisitions Market regained its momentum in the fourth quarter of 2025 after a midyear slowdown. The market reached $23.5 billion announced deals in this period and pushed full-year activity to $65 billion.

Enverus' report said that the?rebound" was driven by motivated purchasers, including refunded Private Equity teams, increased securitized funding and new international players competing for limited assets.

In 2025, international buying in U.S. Upstream markets reached a seven-year-high?of $7.4 Billion and accounted for approximately $6 Billion in the fourth quarter. Buyers focused on Gulf of Mexico assets and Denver-Julesburg Basin (DJ Basin) assets.

According to the report, international buyers continue to prioritise Gulf Coast gas as a result of Mitsubishi's recent $7.5 billion purchase of Aethon Energy's U.S. Shale Production and Infrastructure assets.

Haynesville is becoming less attractive for buyers, and they are expected to consider other options such as the Anadarko Basin or Eagle Ford Basin.

Deal flow for the fourth quarter showed a stronger performance outside of?the Permian basin, with Gulf Coast prices rising and Appalachia staying steady.

Enverus reported that the biggest deal?in fourth quarter was SM Energy’s merger with Civitas Resource, which included?significant positions not only in Permian Basin, but also in DJ Basin.

Crescent Energy and Vital Energy were also merged in 2025.

Enverus also expects that 2026 will be a year of active M&A in the upstream sector, supported by private capital, ABS-backed purchasers, and sustained interest from international buyers.

Andrew Dittmar is a principal analyst for Enverus. Pranav Mathur, Bengaluru reporting

(source: Reuters)