Houston-based E&Ps Magnolia Oil & Gas and Wildfire Energy may well be on tenterhooks awaiting a thumbs-up for the former to acquire the latter. The Eagle Ford players are said to have been in talks since May with Magnolia emerging the front-runner in the bid process. But the potential $4 billion deal faces a hurdle or two to be cleared before Magnolia can lay claim to the third largest acquisition of 2026....

Reese Energy Consulting today spotlights the oil and gas producers and midstreamers, which recently have made moves to realign portfolios, add oomph to basin positions, and wave see-you-later-bye to inherited assets. ...

Some small-town Texas boys working as farmhands on family land have dreams of something bigger or altogether different for their future. Mike Howard was one of those back in his childhood....

While Bill Gates sets to build an artificial sun to power the world, and a Texas family raffles off untapped mineral rights on its land at $4 per ticket, Reese Energy Consulting is following the latest news from Houston-based ConocoPhillips (COP). The company has hardly been shy about slashing $5 billion in debt after acquiring Marathon Oil in 2024 in an all-stock deal valued at $22.5 billion. ...

What a year it’s been less than two months into 2026 for oil and gas mergers, asset divestitures, and acquisitions. While buyer demand remains strong for shale opportunities, especially in the luxe-priced Permian, it’s driven more producers to seek out opportunities in other basins, including explorations of new frontiers outside the U.S. ...

In South Texas—Land of the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk—high-quality, undrilled inventory is about as scarce as a hare with horns. M&A competition for prime assets here is rubber band tight as producers look outside the Permian for diversity, cost efficiencies, and proximity to Gulf Coast export facilities....