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
23 April 2026
The addition of an oil pipeline to the Power of Siberia 2 gas project could ensure deliveries of Russian oil to China, materially shorten logistics lines between West Siberia and final customers, and—amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—offer a land-based export route that reduces exposure to maritime chokepoints
23 April 2026
There is a clear push to bolster exports to Asia amid uncertainty around its North American neighbour, but there are limits to the benefits from the energy crisis
23 April 2026
Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
