Plains All American sees more consolidation in the U.S. oil patch

Pipeline operator Plains all American on Friday hit Wall Street estimates for the second quarter earnings, and reported a jump in revenue after their crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) segments surpassed expectations.

Plains All American Pipeline LP reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 31 cents per share for the quarter ended in June 30, higher than the prior year, but in line with analyst estimates.

The company’s revenue jumped around 11.5% to $12.93 billion from a year ago, surpassing analysts’ expectations for $12.84 billion.

Plains executives told investors they remainbullish output in the Permian basin, the largest U.S. oilfield, and that they expect to see more consolidation in the oil and gas sector.

U.S. oil and gas deals continued to run hot in the second quarter, topping $30 billion with big dollar tie-ups pushing values higher, according to data released on Tuesday by energy researcher Enverus.

“We’ve been pretty open on the views that we think there is going to be more consolidation across the industry, whether it be in upstream, midstream, downstream,” Willie Chiang, managing director of Plains All American Pipeline said in an investors call on Friday.

“Just because capital is more expensive, and you start growing a little bit more through efficiencies and synergies,” Chiang added.

Plains shares had risen by 0.8% this quarter and gained 18.8% so far this year and were trading at $17.50 on Friday afternoon.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston)