U.S. oil and gas companies are selling assets and acreage piecemeal as they jockey to survive a downturn in energy prices, and the trend for small transactions looks likely to heat up next year. Few energy companies have engaged in the large-scale mergers that many industry experts predicted would occur after oil prices plunged a year ago. Instead, they are selling off far-flung or less-valuable drilling leases and other properties to raise cash. In some cases the same companies are also buying the rights to drill in areas they consider core, and private equity has been bidding for assets. Bankers and lawyers who work with energy companies say they have seen a pickup in transactions over the past few months, and expect even more in 2016 if oil prices remain low. “There will be a flood of assets hitting the market,” said Jim Rice, a partner at the law […]