Buyer’s market for UKCS sell-offs
Majors may want to accelerate their North Sea divestments. But they may also need to dance to acquirers’ tunes
The first analyst on UK independent Enquest’s half-year results call was not slow to raise the M&A point. Given comments made by BP about reducing its upstream positions, what opportunities did that give the smaller producer for acquisitions, he asked. Nor is BP likely the only major who may have UK continental shelf (UKCS) assets to sell. Speculation also surrounds potential buyers for ExxonMobil’s portfolio of non-operated UK North Sea assets. But, while the sellers may prefer to get rid of their portfolios in as few transactions as possible—something ExxonMobil managed to achieve with the two tranches of Norwegian continental shelf assets it shifted to private-equity backed Var Energi
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
