North Sea waters start to calm
Total's Maersk oil deal is unlikely to be surpassed in the region any time soon
After a flurry of mergers and acquisitions so far in 2017, activity based on North Sea assets is likely to become more subdued, with most of the choicest prospects on the market now having changed hands. The first half of the year saw more than $9bn of value traded in North Sea-related M&A, more than for the whole of 2016 put together, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The biggest were Chrysaor's purchase of a package of Shell's North Sea assets worth almost $4bn, private equity-backed Neptune Oil & Gas's acquisition of Engie's exploration and production business for around $4bn and the purchase of the oil and gas business of Denmark's Dong Energy for $1.3bn. These deals were
Also in this section
23 May 2025
LNG projects need the certainty of long-term contracts, but Henry-Hub–linked deals put buyers at significant risk
22 May 2025
Industry says compliance is near-impossible and have called for more clarity to prevent cargoes being redirected
22 May 2025
The next energy crisis could come from the severing of the link between oil and gas prices, with potentially severe economic consequences
22 May 2025
With contract awards looming on the Kuwait-Saudi backed Dorra field, the long-stalled gas project appears finally to be gaining traction—despite Iranian objections
