Bloomberg Surveillance · Friday, September 4, 2026
Despite the energy sector's significant year-to-date gains, merger and acquisition activity has been surprisingly subdued. This slowdown is attributed to a combination of factors, including rising interest rates and prohibitive funding costs. Additionally, some companies, like EOG Resources, are facing internal issues related to unclear ownership and mineral rights, potentially hindering due diligence for potential deals.
“And then talk to us a little bit about Venezuela cargos. I mean, are they really accelerating? I mean, are we seeing real evidence that oil is coming online at a pace that the markets are pricing in right now?”
“You rightly point out that there just hasn't been, despite the fact that I think the energy sector and the S & P is up 50% year to date. Despite all of that, we're not seeing deals in the energy patch. We're not seeing M & A. We're not seeing as much activity as one would have otherwise thought. Is that because yields are going up and funding costs are becoming too prohibitive? Or is there something else going on?”
“EOG Resources is a crack technical team. They can pull oil out of a turnip. The problem is they're really loosey-goosey and cavalier about the ownership, not for the shareholders, but for the mineral owners. And in some of the basins where they operate, they can't tell you, and they've admitted in court, they can't tell you how much they owe the owners, mineral owners. That's the United States government. That's state government. That's ranchers. They've got a huge problem. They can't pass a due diligence.”