PE Live: UKCS M&A faces challenges
Downturns often usher in buying opportunities, but there are unique obstacles in the current environment
The UK continental shelf (UKCS) has seen substantial revisions to and cancellations of already agreed deals and a slowdown in ongoing sales processes as players take stock in a post-Covid world. Panellists on the latest PE Live webcast see both short and longer-term challenges to M&A in the basin. But they also remain convinced that, if the right assets are available at the right price, deals will be done. And it is worth remembering that the UKCS is far from alone in facing hurdles in this respect. “Globally, M&A activity in 2019 was half of the average over the past two decades,” says Jon Story, vice-president for upstream at consultancy IHS Markit. “And it was a third of what it w
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
