As both public and private capital-and both equity and debt-remains plentiful to the oil and gas industry, and oil and gas prices are strong, the seller's market will not abate. See examples of 2007 deals as well as some of the 2008 vintage.

In unconventional natural gas plays around the country, the numbers keep getting bigger: production, estimated recoveries per well, lateral drilling lengths, number of frac stages, lease bonuses, rig counts. The star is still the Barnett shale in north Texas.

Investors and operators place a lot of faith in the U.S. Rocky Mountain region, one of the few places in the Lower 48 that will sustain its upward climb in gas production in coming years.

Financings and advisories for 16 upstream companies are spotlighted in this report, including the $4-billion Loews/Dominion E&P deal and the $320-million Dune/GoldKing deal.

This report looks at the implications of new Canadian regulations and its current flux, and how Canadian oil and gas companies plan to answer.

In this annual issue, more than 400 key M&A decision-makers and go-to leaders within E&P companies are listed, representing more than 200 primarily U.S.-focused companies.

The midstream sector of the energy industry—made up of gas gathering lines, interstate pipelines, processing plants and storage—is suddenly a hot place to be for companies, their financial backers and investors.

Drilling in Canada is taking a breather this year after the high-flying scene of 2005 and early 2006. This gives investors a better chance to make clear-eyed choices for the future.

How does an E&P company decide when and where to sow and reap? By studying the field, the players and their strategies. This annual report is your guide.

Macro-trends and deal techniques greatly affect the M&A space. For 2007, the outlook is fairly sunny in the U.S. but partly cloudy in Canada. Money in either country is not the problem.