Key facts
- The combined wealth of the world's billionaires reached a record $15.1 trillion in 2025.
- Family offices are showing keen interest in oil and gas infrastructure assets like pipelines.
- Oil and gas M&A spending hit a two-year high in the first half of 2026.
- Gunvor Group is in talks to acquire natural gas assets in the Haynesville shale basin for $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion.
- Citadel acquired Paloma Natural Gas for approximately $1.2 billion last year.
- Vitol Group divested its southern Delaware Basin venture, VTX Energy Partners, for approximately $2.3 billion.
Wealthy investors, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices, are increasingly allocating capital to oil and gas assets, driven by high energy prices and growing demand fueled by the AI boom and geopolitical tensions. This shift represents a long-term structural change rather than a cyclical trade, according to Bank of America.
Despite a competitive market with high valuations, evidenced by significant merger and acquisition activity in the first half of 2026, opportunities remain for smaller investors to acquire undervalued, non-operated assets. Major players, including commodity trading houses like Gunvor Group and hedge funds such as Citadel, are actively acquiring physical U.S. shale oil production assets, often seeking to bypass volatile Middle Eastern supply routes.
For instance, Gunvor Group is reportedly in early-stage talks to acquire natural gas assets in the Haynesville shale basin for $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion. Citadel expanded its upstream energy presence by acquiring Paloma Natural Gas for approximately $1.2 billion last year and has been exploring further acquisitions. Vitol Group, a major independent energy trader, has a history of strategically rotating capital by acquiring U.S. upstream assets during downturns and selling them at peak valuations, recently divesting a southern Delaware Basin venture for about $2.3 billion.
Money managers and hedge funds are also showing strong bullish sentiment towards oil and gas sectors, as indicated by a significant increase in net-long positions on crude oil futures according to CFTC data. This optimism coincides with surging oil prices, driven by intensifying global supply risks, particularly in the Middle East.