A total of 52 deals worth $4.7 billion were announced for the region during Q4 2020, compared to the last four-quarter average of 39 deals.

Middle East and Africa's oil & gas industry saw a 33.3 per cent increase in overall deal activity during Q4 2020, compared to the four-quarter average, according to the GlobalData Deals Database.

A total of 52 deals worth $4.7 billion were announced for the region during Q4 2020, compared to the last four quarter average of 39 deals. Of all the types of agreements, M&A saw the largest share of activity in Q4 2020 at 51, representing a 98.1 per cent share for the region.

Second was private equity, with one deal capturing 1.9 per cent of the total deal activity for the quarter.

In terms of value of the deals, M&A was the leading category in the Middle East and the $4.67 billion African oil & gas industry, followed by a total of $30 million in private equity deals.

Middle East and Africa's oil & gas sector deals in Q4 2020: top deals

The top five oil & gas deals accounted for 77.3 percent of the total value in Q4 2020.

The combined value of the top five oil & gas deals was $3.63 billion, compared to the total value of $4.7 billion recorded for the quarter.