Scramble for gas assets pushes dealmaking to decade high

The global scramble for natural gas assets has turned the upstream energy sector into something resembling a high-stakes auction house, with buyers willing to pay whatever it takes to lock down supply. According to Wood Mackenzie, companies spent $32 billion on gas production project acquisitions in the first half of 2026, the highest level of dealmaking in the upstream gas sector in over a decade. The average premium paid in gas-focused upstream deals hit 21% above pre-deal valuations. That’s the steepest markup since 2013, and it tells you everything about how tight the market for quality gas assets has become. Shell’s mega-deal sets the tone The crown jewel of this dealmaking frenzy was Shell’s $16.4 billion acquisition of ARC Resources, a Canadian producer operating in the prolific Montney shale formation. It was Shell’s largest transaction since it swallowed BG Group roughly a decade ago, a deal that itself was considered a generational bet on LNG. North America becomes ground zero Perhaps the most striking data point in this wave of activity is what’s happening with unconventional gas development on the continent. Some $30 billion was invested in North American unconventional...