The potential tie-up would see the $3 billion valued Enerplus acquired by $30 billion Devon Energy, adding to the string of other mergers and acquisitions in the North American oil and gas industry, including megadeals such as Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s acquisition of Hess, along with Occidental’s purchase of CrownRock, Exxon’s purchase of Denbury, and Chevron’s acquisition of PDC Energy.
Devon already has a presence in North Dakota, and an acquisition of more North Dakota assets will help spread out its reliance on other basins, such as the Delaware. Enerplus already sold its Canadian assets back in 2022 as it shifted focus on its assets in the United States—in retrospect a seemingly wise move that allowed it to return more than $300 million to shareholders last year. Enerplus, however, has been criticized for its high spend on maintaining current levels of production.