Upstream merger and acquisition (M&A) activity experienced a sharp downturn in early 2025, with global deal value plunging 39% from the fourth quarter of 2024 to just $28 billion in the first quarter of 2025 – less than half the $66 billion recorded in the same period a year earlier. Although activity has picked up in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, it is not enough to make up for North America’s dominant market share, which stood at 71% of the deal value in the first quarter of this year. As the year progressed, upstream M&A…