Petrogas banks on Dutch experience
The Omani firm hopes to bring learnings from its Netherlands’ acquisition to bear on its entry into the UKCS
Privately-held Omani oil producer Petrogas teamed up in July with Neo E&P, a vehicle of Norwegian private equity (PE) firm Hitec Vision, to buy a swathe of assets on the UK continental shelf (UKCS) from Total for $635mn. The stakes in 10 fields, seven with operatorships, had previously belonged to Denmark's Maersk and were acquired by Total in 2018. Petrogas' CEO Usama al Barwani spoke to Petroleum Economist about how the firm was aiming to leverage its experience in the Dutch sector of the North Sea to grow its new UKCS business. There have been relatively few recent international new entrants into the North Sea, with players preferring US shale or frontier deepwater. Why is Petrogas bu
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution






