Transacting parties should be aware of five recent trends in oil and gas merger enforcement and prepare for more arduous regulatory reviews.

US antitrust enforcement in oil and gas transactions has spiked in the last year. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced an increased focus on closely scrutinizing transactions in the industry, and that scrutiny has resulted in many recent oil and gas transaction investigations and deal challenges. Oil and gas producers and midstream and downstream operators need to take into account this shifting antitrust enforcement framework as they negotiate transaction agreements and formulate antitrust clearance strategies.