Shell and Exxon Mobil have announced that they are suspending the planned sale of their Southern North Sea natural‑gas portfolio to private‑equity firm Viaro Energy, a decision that was disclosed on January 14, 2026.
The original agreement, signed in July 2024, had set a 2025 completion target and an estimated transaction value of roughly £500 million. The portfolio includes several mature gas fields and the Bacton terminal, which processes about a third of the United Kingdom’s gas supply.
Shell and Exxon cited “evolving commercial and market conditions” and “unmet completion conditions” as reasons for the halt. Investigations revealed that fraud allegations against Viaro’s chief executive, Francesco Mazzagatti, were a significant factor that undermined confidence in the deal’s viability.
Strategically, Shell is refocusing on its central and northern North Sea assets, while Exxon is accelerating its divestiture of non‑core assets to concentrate on higher‑return projects in Guyana, the Permian Basin and LNG. Retaining the Southern North Sea assets allows both companies to maintain a stable gas supply chain and avoid the uncertainty that a sale to a firm under scrutiny would introduce.
The Bacton terminal remains under Shell’s operation, ensuring continued processing capacity for the UK’s domestic gas market. The decision to suspend the sale preserves this critical infrastructure and mitigates potential supply disruptions that could arise from a transfer to a company facing reputational risk.
Shell spokesperson James McDonald said, “Despite a constructive process, completion conditions were not met as commercial and market conditions evolved.” Viaro CEO Francesco Mazzagatti added, “The parties have worked hard and in close alignment to try and complete this transaction over many months, but despite this being a fully funded opportunity, the completion conditions were not met as commercial and market conditions evolved and we mutually agreed not to proceed.”
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