The biggest oil and gas company takeovers in 2015

Enbridge Income Fund / Enbridge Pipelines and Enbridge Pipelines Athabasca – $30.4bn

Enbridge Income Fund acquired Enbridge Pipelines and Enbridge Pipelines Athabasca’s Canadian liquids pipeline business as well as its renewable energy assets in Canada in a transaction valued at $30.4bn in September. RBC Capital Markets assisted Enbridge Income Fund as the financial advisor in the deal.

The acquisitions provide Enbridge Income Fund with a portfolio of $15bn of growth projects, of which $3bn worth projects are already in-service and the remaining are scheduled to be completed by 2018.

MPLX / MarkWest Energy – $20bn

MPLX, a master limited partnership formed by Marathon Petroleum, acquired MarkWest Energy in a $20bn deal in December. Marathon Petroleum paid $675m in cash to fund the transaction, which was first proposed in July.

MarkWest is a leading processor of natural gas in the US with interests in Marcellus and Utica Shale. The takeover makes MarkWest a wholly-owned subsidiary of MPLX.

Energy Transfer Partners / Regency Energy- $18bn

Regency Energy was acquired by Energy Transfer Partners in an $18bn transaction in April, making Regency Energy a wholly-owned subsidiary. The deal was first announced in January.

Energy Transfer Partners and Regency will now focus on assets located in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale as well as their natural gas joint venture, Lone Star. The intrastate pipeline system operated by Energy Transfer Partners will also receive increased volumes of natural gas.

Repsol Energy / Talisman Energy – $13bn

Spanish energy giant Repsol acquired Canada’s Talisman Energy in a $13bn deal in May. Bennett Jones acted as legal advisers for Repsol Energy in the acquisition process.

The acquisition has created a global entity with improved capabilities and growth prospects that will now focus on developing Talisman’s undeveloped resource base. Repsol’s operations are centred in deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the North Slope of Alaska, Kansas and Oklahoma as well as assets located in offshore Canada.

Siemens / Dresser-Rand – $7.6bn

German conglomerate Siemens acquired American oil and gas equipment supplier, Dresser-Rand, in a deal valued at $7.6bn. The deal was approved by the European Union Commission in June marking the completion of all regulatory approvals required to complete the transaction. Siemens was advised by Goldman Sachs Group, Deutsche Bank and Lazard on the transaction.

Established brands from Dresser-Rand will be continued and a new unit will be established within Siemens Power and Gas Division with a focus on oil and gas. The new portfolio will feature a comprehensive range of compressor solutions, turbines and engines.

LetterOne / Upstream Arm of RWE – $7.1bn

LetterOne, an international investment group, acquired DEA, the oil and natural gas arm of German company RWE, in a transaction worth $7.1bn in March.

LetterOne group acquired RWE’s assets in UK, Germany and North Sea, including 12 producing oil and gas fields as part of the takeover. The acquisition was the first significant investment by LetterOne in Germany.

Williams Partners / Access Midstream Partners – $5.995bn

Williams Partners acquired Access Midstream in a $5.995bn transaction in February. The deal was announced in June with Williams agreeing to buy 50% general partner interest and 55.1 million limited partner units in Access Midstream Partners. Access Midstream Partners is now known as Williams Partners.

The deal has enabled Williams Partners to focus and grow in three key midstream areas – natural gas pipelines, gathering and processing, and natural gas liquids and petrochemical services.

Targa Resources Partners / Atlas Pipeline – $5.8bn

Targa Resources Partners acquired Atlas Pipeline for $5.8bn in February. Evercore Partners acted as financial advisor to Targa Resources Partners and Richards, Layton & Finger served as legal counsel.

The transaction will enhance Targa’s footprint in the Permian Basin, Midcontinent and South Texas regions. The natural gas downstream assets of Targa Resources Partners stand to benefit from Atlas Pipeline’s natural gas production. The new entity will now be a leading supplier of natural gas, terminalling and crude oil gathering services in the US.

APA Group / QCLNG Pipeline – $4.6bn

Australia’s leading natural gas infrastructure business, APA Group acquired the Queensland Curtis LNG pipeline from BG Group for $4.6bn in June. Allens acted as the legal adviser for APA Group on the transaction.

The 543km-long pipeline was renamed the Wallumbilla Gladstone Pipeline following the acquisition. Constructed between 2011 and 2014, the pipeline links natural gas fields in southern Queensland to an LNG export facility located on Australia’s east coast.

Noble Energy / Rosetta Resources – $3.9bn

Noble Energy acquired Rosetta Resources, a company based in Texas, in a $3.9bn deal in July. Petrie Partners Securities acted as financial advisor to Noble Energy and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal advisor.

Rosetta Resources’ assets include approximately 50,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale and 56,000 net acres in the Permian (46,000 acres in the Delaware Basin and 10,000 acres in the Midland Basin). The acquisition will provide Noble Energy with resource potential of approximately one billion barrels of oil-equivalent.