U.S. oil prices fell to an all-time low last week, indicating a deep recession for the oil and gas industry that threatens to push dozens of companies into bankruptcy and drive M&A in the oilfield services sector—but don’t expect to see any deals in the near-term, said an analyst with Rystad Energy.

“The wild day-to-day swings in the financial markets” are likely to hamper M&A deals, making it hard for contract negotiations to take place in the near-term, Binny Bagga, senior analyst of energy service research at Rystad Energy, said during a recent webinar. Bagga cited TechnipFMC Plc’s decision in March to postpone its planned spinoff due to turbulence in financial markets linked to the coronavirus outbreak as an example.

“Many such deals will be impacted, going forward,” she added.

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