Shell, Equinor form Adura, the top UK North Sea operator 

Adura has been formed after Equinor and Shell completed their transaction to combine their UK offshore oil and gas operations.

The Aberdeen, Scotland-headquartered company is jointly owned by Shell (50%) and Equinor (50%) to operate assets and fields in the North Sea and west of Shetland including the Mariner heavy oil field, Penguins, Gannet and Pierce fields, Nelson, Buzzard and Shearwater platforms in the North Sea, and the Clair, Schiehallion and Victory fields west of Shetland, plus the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments.

Adura will also hold several exploration licences, and is expected to produce more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, making it the most productive in the UK North Sea in 2026.

“Adura represents a new chapter in the UK North Sea, bringing together two strong portfolios and decades of experience,” said Equinor executive vice president for exploration and production outside of Norway, Philippe Mathieu.

“With the focus, scale and operational flexibility needed to succeed, the company is positioned for long-term impact.”

Its first will be achieving regulatory approval to continue with the deepwater oil development of Rosebank, which is expected to include a network of subsea wells and infrastructure tied into a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Then the Jackdaw gas-condensate resources in the North Sea will be developed using a fixed production platform and new pipelines.