Energy Capital Conference 2021 Speaker Presentations

Maybe it’s because of challenged returns or the rise in ESG investing, but the capital flight from the oil and gas space is unprecedented. Can you spare an oil bum a dollar? Whether it’s public investors, private equity or banks, money is tight. What are the headwinds facing oil and gas capital, and how have sources and uses of capital in the upstream industry changed going forward?  

The tried-and-true borrowing base is not working so well for commercial oil and gas lenders and many are pulling out of syndications with few willing lenders to step in, leaving operators worried about their RBLs. What’s the state of the commercial lending markets? Are more exiting, or are banks getting back to lending? What are the terms if so? Or is it pencils down for traditional bank debt?

High-yield debt is going cheap, equity is issuing for mergers and smaller companies, and don’t look now but was that an E&P IPO? Are the public markets really opening again for oil and gas? Is it just a big company market, or can smaller deals get funded? In a live-within-cash-flow world, do operators even need the capital markets? And what impact is ESG having on upstream capital raising?

Private equity firms in the oil and gas space are picking up the last pieces of old-model portfolios and transitioning to new ideas. Will those ideas include oil and gas? What is the LP appetite now for fossil fuels, and what is the fundraising outlook? How much dry powder is really available from PE and what types of transactions will draw interest? And is now the perfect time to buy? What is the new PE plan?

With banks pulling back, private capital is stepping in to fill the gaps for asset-backed debt and essentially becoming the new banks for producers. How are the private markets positioning their capital for this environment? Who are the active alternative lenders and how do they define their market? What range of terms?

Whether it be infrastructure for natural gas, industrial decarbonization, electric vehicles or renewable energy, significant investment in energy infrastructure will be increasingly required as the energy transition unfolds. This session will focus on the role of private equity in making investment in the necessary infrastructure. 

What are the specific opportunities within energy transition and tech that private equity should target? In what ways are such opportunities different than investing in traditional energy and in what ways are they the same? How can one diligence and structure investments to protect against a downside case?