Liam Denning, Columnist

Roll Up for the Great Permian Sale (While It Lasts)

The sector has quickly gone from untouchable to M&A bait.

June 7, 2018 at 4:45 PM UTC

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy. A former banker, he edited the Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column and wrote the Financial Times’s Lex column.

Permian natural gas.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America

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The bottlenecks stranding oil in west Texas spell opportunity for those on the ground who can refine it or offer a route out via pipelines or rail. And maybe bankers, too.

Permian-focused exploration and production companies have gone from untouchable to un-ownable in a matter of weeks. The region’s logistical constraints have cut deep into the price fetched by Permian barrels and raised concerns about cash flow, budgets and growth.