Shell and Equinor have combined their UK offshore oil and gas portfolios into Adura, a new Aberdeen-based joint venture that immediately becomes the UK North Sea’s largest independent producer. This blog unpacks what’s inside the portfolio, why the JV was created, and how it could shape UK energy security and trading flows over the next decade.
Adura pulls together Shell and Equinor’s interests in 12 UK North Sea oil and gas fields and projects-in- execution, including names like Mariner, Rosebank, Buzzard, Shearwater, Penguins, Clair and Schiehallion. Instead of parallel portfolios, the JV runs them as a single, focused business with its own management team and board.
The logic is straightforward: concentrate capital and capabilities into a dedicated North Sea vehicle that can extend field life, optimise uptime and run brownfield investments more efficiently in a mature basin.
For traders and risk teams, that consolidation translates into a clearer line-of-sight on production, turn- around schedules and potential selling patterns from a single, large-scale producer.
Around 1,200 staff from Shell and Equinor are transferring into Adura, bringing decades of experience across geoscience, subsea, operations, maintenance and commercial roles. The company is headquartered in Aberdeen, close to the assets it operates and the supply chain that supports them.
That scale matters. In a high-cost, high-regulation basin like the UK North Sea, the ability to spread fixed costs and specialist teams across multiple hubs and tie-backs can be the difference between marginal barrels and value-adding production.
For the UK, it also means a single operator with the mandate and resources to keep core infrastructure running as the basin matures and demand patterns shift.
Adura is expected to produce more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, according to data from Wood Mackenzie – more than any other company in the UK North Sea. That makes it a core player for benchmarked crude and gas flows from the basin.
Because the JV blends oil-weighted hubs with gas-focused developments and tie-backs, it has flexibility to adjust activity across the portfolio as prices, taxation and policy signals change.
For counterparties, that scale plus optionality means Adura will quickly become a name to watch in long-term contracting, hedging and exposure management for UKCS barrels and molecules.
The creation of Adura marks a structural reshaping of the UK Continental Shelf. Instead of Shell and Equinor running overlapping North Sea portfolios, their 12 core producing assets now sit inside a single, scale JV with dedicated leadership, shared capital and a clear brief: extract long-term value from a mature basin while still meeting tough safety, emissions and fiscal expectations.
Adura assumes interests in 12 producing oil and gas fields and near-term projects including Mariner, Rosebank, Buzzard, Shearwater, Penguins, Gannet, Nelson, Pierce, Jackdaw, Victory, Clair and Schiehallion.
Bringing Shell and Equinor’s UKCS positions under one roof is designed to cut unit costs, share offshore resources and streamline decision-making across hubs, satellites and tie-backs.
With expected output above 140,000 boe/d in 2026, Adura is forecast to be the UK North Sea’s largest producer by volume, underpinning a significant share of basin liquids and gas flows.
Shell and Equinor retain wind, hydrogen, CCS and gas terminal assets outside Adura, allowing the JV to focus purely on upstream oil and gas while the parents pursue broader transition portfolios.
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Adura is expected to deliver more than 140,000 boe/d in 2026, putting it at the top of the UK North Sea production league table.
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A consolidated portfolio of 12 producing assets and projects-in-execution, spanning oil and gas hubs across the UK Continental Shelf.
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Around 1,200 staff from Shell and Equinor move into Adura, carrying institutional knowledge of North Sea fields, projects and operations.
For Shell and Equinor, Adura is a way to keep high-potential barrels working in a mature basin without tying up disproportionate group capital and management bandwidth. For the UK, it offers a scale-focused operator capable of sweating legacy infrastructure while the wider system transitions towards lower-carbon supply.
For trading, portfolio and risk desks, Adura becomes a new focal point: a single counterparty that aggregates production from multiple hubs, with its own investment decisions, maintenance plans and hedging choices – all of which will ripple into physical flows and paper markets linked to UK North Sea crude and gas indices.
The formation of Adura has unfolded over several years, moving from strategic concept to live joint venture with real implications for investment, taxation and basin competitiveness.
Shell and Equinor begin exploring options to combine their UK offshore oil and gas assets, framing a possible JV as a way to drive efficiencies and extend field life in a high-cost basin while maintaining UK production.
Outcome: Framework for a dedicated UK North Sea upstream vehicle.
The companies agree the asset package, ownership split and governance for the JV, and engage with UK authorities and stakeholders on competition, safety and environmental oversight for the combined portfolio.
Outcome: Regulatory clearance and a defined 50:50 ownership model.
Shell and Equinor complete the transaction and formally launch Adura as an Aberdeen-headquartered JV. Staff start transferring over, and the company assumes operatorship or equity positions in 12 producing fields and projects-in-execution.
Outcome: Adura goes live as the UK North Sea’s largest independent producer.
Adura focuses on integrating teams, systems and contracts, while re-benchmarking development plans, capex and maintenance schedules across the portfolio. Early wins focus on shared logistics, campaign planning and brownfield improvements.
Outcome: Unified operating model targeting lower costs and higher uptime.
As integration stabilises, Adura aims to deliver more than 140,000 boe/d in 2026, reinforcing its status as the basin’s largest producer and a central pillar of UK energy security during an era of evolving fiscal and climate policy.
Outcome: A new North Sea heavyweight with basin-level influence.
If you are active in North Sea-linked crude and gas, the Adura JV changes the shape of counterparties and production profiles in the basin. Understanding its portfolio, project queue and strategic priorities is essential for hedging, long-term contracting and risk management.
Read the official announcement from Shell and Equinor on the formation of Adura, including portfolio details and strategic commentary from senior executives.
View Press Release →Explore independent perspectives on Adura’s expected 140k+ boe/d output, North Sea tax context and its implications for basin investment and supply.
Oilprice.com Coverage →Follow UK North Sea policy, fiscal changes and ESG debate that will influence Adura’s long-term investment decisions and project pipeline.
Offshore Energy News →Adura is a 50:50 joint venture owned by Shell U.K. Limited and Equinor UK Limited. It operates as an independent company headquartered in Aberdeen, with its own management team and governance, while the parent companies remain shareholders.
The JV includes interests in 12 producing oil and gas fields and projects in execution such as Mariner, Rosebank, Buzzard, Shearwater, Penguins, Gannet, Nelson, Pierce, Jackdaw, Victory, Clair and Schiehallion, plus associated exploration licences on the UK Continental Shelf.
Public guidance and independent analysis suggest Adura is expected to produce more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, which would make it the largest producer in the UK North Sea by volume.
Equinor retains its cross-border fields such as Utgard, Barnacle and Statfjord, as well as its offshore wind, hydrogen, CCS, power and storage assets. Shell keeps its interests in the SEGAL system, the Bacton gas terminal, Southern North Sea assets and several post-cessation fields. Those remain outside Adura.
As a large, focused upstream operator, Adura will be central to debates around the UK windfall tax, licensing, emissions targets and infrastructure decommissioning. Its capital plans and responses to policy shifts will signal how investable the UK North Sea remains for other players.