Deals
Oil Dealmakers Find Slim Pickings Among Premium-Priced Explorers
- Crude needs to rebound to justify valuations, FirstEnergy says
- Industry will have `almost no value' if oil doesn't recover
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Wannabe dealmakers in the oil industry are stymied by a fundamental problem: there’s a mismatch between the price of crude and the value of companies.
Oil’s slump prompted speculation that explorers and producers, collectively known as E&Ps, were on the cusp of an acquisitions boom as many of the smaller companies burned through cash. That’s unlikely with crude languishing below $50 a barrel, according to research from FirstEnergy Capital LLP.