Energy's reshuffle: sell the fringe, buy the core, build the pipes
Comstock is selling $1.65 billion of gas interests to Azerbaijan's state oil company. Chord is selling $550 million of Marcellus assets. Permian Resources spent $1.15 billion buying in the Permian. The map is being redrawn, not expanded.
- Comstock Resources agreed to sell working interests in Haynesville assets and Pinnacle Gas Services to SOCAR for $1.65 billion. Self-reported m:…6152
- Permian Resources completed about 175 acquisitions for $1.15 billion, including the $1.025 billion purchase of Ridge Runner Resources II. Self-reported m:…3748
- Chord Energy announced the divestiture of non-operated Marcellus assets for $550 million and declared a base dividend of $1.30 per share. Self-reported m:…9336
- Targa Resources reported third-quarter net income of $658 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1,504 million, and expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of at least $6.0 billion. Self-reported m:…4215
- Kinetik Holdings reached a final investment decision on phase 1 of the ECCC Pipeline expansion, expected to lift capacity by roughly 50% to about 225 MMcf/d. Self-reported m:…0163
The reshuffle
Energy companies spent this week redrawing their maps. Comstock Resources agreed to sell $1.65 billion of gas interests to Azerbaijan's state oil company. Chord Energy announced a $550 million sale of Marcellus assets. Permian Resources completed about 175 acquisitions for $1.15 billion. The pattern is not expansion for its own sake. It is selling the fringe and buying the core. m:…6152 m:…9336 m:…3748
Comstock reported natural gas and oil sales of $359.3 million for the third quarter and net income of $22.3 million. The company entered a definitive agreement to sell working interests in its Haynesville assets and Pinnacle Gas Services to the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, known as SOCAR, for $1.65 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to customary conditions, and SOCAR's interest in the western Haynesville assets will fall to 7.5% after five years and after a 15% return on investment. Comstock also extended its bank credit facility to November 15, 2028, with a further extension to 2031 once the deal closes and debt is retired. m:…6152
Permian Resources moved in the opposite direction. The company completed about 175 acquisitions for $1.15 billion in total cash consideration, including the $1.025 billion purchase of Ridge Runner Resources II from EnCap Investments. It reported total production of 457.5 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 22% from the previous quarter, and $846 million of adjusted free cash flow. The company raised its full-year oil production guidance to a mid-point of 202.5 thousand barrels a day, and expects to generate $300 million more free cash flow this year than its original February plan. m:…3748
Selling, and what comes with it
Chord Energy reported third-quarter net income of $181.6 million, adjusted EBITDA of $871.3 million and adjusted free cash flow of $442 million. The company announced the divestiture of non-operated Marcellus assets for $550 million, declared a base dividend of $1.30 a share, raised its full-year oil volume guidance to 162.5 thousand barrels a day, and repurchased $205 million of shares in the quarter at an average price of $135.74. Michael Lou has assumed the role of president and chief executive. The company expects the Marcellus sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. m:…9336
The midstream companies are building for the basin the producers are consolidating around. Kinetik Holdings reported adjusted EBITDA of $278.1 million, processed record gas volumes of 1.94 billion cubic feet a day, and reached a final investment decision on phase one of its ECCC Pipeline expansion, which should lift capacity by about 50% to roughly 225 million cubic feet a day. It also upsized its Kings Landing II processing capacity by more than 25% to 380 million cubic feet a day. Targa Resources reported third-quarter net income of $658 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1,504 million, expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of at least $6.0 billion, and intends to recommend a 2027 annual dividend of $6.00 a share. It also entered new 20-year fee-based midstream agreements with subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and announced a new 150 thousand barrel a day natural gas liquids fractionator, Train 14, in Mont Belvieu, Texas. m:…0163 m:…4215
What the map says
Put together, the week reads as a sorting exercise. Comstock and Chord are converting non-operated and out-of-basin positions into cash. Permian is spending its cash on operated positions in its home basin. Kinetik and Targa are adding the pipes and plants to move what the consolidated basin produces. Nobody in this set is betting on a new basin. They are betting on the one they already know. m:…6152 m:…9336 m:…3748 m:…0163 m:…4215
The test is the closing table. Comstock's SOCAR deal is meant to close by the end of 2026. Chord's Marcellus sale is due in the fourth quarter. Targa's dividend increase is a recommendation its management intends to make, not a done deal. Until those close, the reshuffle is a set of agreements, not a new map. m:…6152 m:…9336 m:…4215
What is still unresolved
- Whether the SOCAR transaction closes by the end of 2026, as Comstock expects.
- Whether Permian's acquisition pace continues into 2027.
- The final terms of Targa's new 20-year agreements with ExxonMobil subsidiaries.
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