As crude oil prices plunged and tariff chaos took hold in early April, oil and gas deal-making slammed on the brakes from a record-breaking pace to a virtual standstill.
As the top oil supermajors in the U.S.—Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips—gobbled up smaller players, the next feeding frenzy was supposed to come from private equity-backed startups that had raised funds and were ready to feast on so-called, “non-core” asset sales from the biggest oil producers.
