The first quarter of the year saw record-high oil and gas M&A activity in the U.S., with the value of deals topping US$73 billion – a whopping 160-percent annual increase and a record high. That’s what PwC reported , adding that most of these were in the upstream segment and that 20 of the 53 M&A deals were made in the Permian, cementing the play’s status as star performer of the U.S. oil patch. The revival of M&A activity was a direct result of OPEC’s decision to start cutting production at the end of last year, but PwC also notes that the majority of deals were in fact asset sales, rather than corporate acquisitions. This means, according to the consultancy, that energy companies are being smart about optimizing the value of their production assets rather than just seeking to expand these as much as they can. And it seems […]