Consolidation has transformed the US tight oil patch over the past decade — and still has room to run. Multiple iterations of M&A have made leading US oil producers all the larger, putting even more pressure on smaller producers to compete for capital and profitable inventory, as well as on costs and technology. Heightened US antitrust scrutiny and the need to digest recent deals will likely slow further dealmaking among top producers for now, putting the middle tier of E&Ps on our radar in the near term. US consolidation has completely reshaped the corporate landscape that emerged in the country’s noughties tight ... (full story)