TotalEnergies to merge UK offshore assets to form NEO NEXT+
Key Highlights
- TotalEnergies will become the largest shareholder in NEO NEXT+ with a 47.5% stake.
- The combined entity aims to produce 250,000 boe/d in 2026 from North Sea fields.
- TotalEnergies' UK assets include interests in the Alwyn/Dunbar, Elgin/Franklin, and Culzean fields.
TotalEnergies will merge its UK offshore upstream business with NEO NEXT Energy Ltd.—a joint venture of HitecVision and Repsol—in what will become the largest independent oil and gas producer in the UK.
Through the deal, TotalEnergies will become the largest shareholder (47.5%) in the expanded NEO NEXT, which will be renamed NEO NEXT+, the company said in a release Dec. 8.
TotalEnergies' UK Upstream assets include interests in the Alwyn/Dunbar area in the Northern North Sea and the Elgin/Franklin and Culzean areas in the Central North Sea.
In 2024, TotalEnergies E&P UK Ltd. agreed to sell its West of Shetland assets in the UK to the Prax Group, but the deal did not close and Prax's parent company entered liquidation in July 2025. Since then, Serica Energy has effectively taken over the assets through signed agreements with Prax Group and connected deals with TotalEnergies and One-Dyas.
In 2024, TotalEnergies operated around 27% of the UK Continental Shelf’s (UKCS) gas production, with average daily equity production of 121,000 boe/d (70% gas).
NEO NEXT+ is expected produce 250,000 boe/d in 2026, through a portfolio that, in addition to TotalEnergies' UK assets, also includes NEO Energy’s and Repsol UK’s interests in the Elgin/Franklin complex and Penguins, Mariner, Shearwater, and Culzean fields.
After completion of the deal, expected in first-half 2026 subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, NEO NEXT+ will be jointly owned by TotalEnergies (47.5%), HitecVision (28.875%), and Repsol UK (23.625%).
TotalEnergies UK will retain up to $2.3 billion of the decommissioning liabilities related to its legacy assets.
NEO NEXT
NEO NEXT, in a separate release Dec. 8, said additional details about NEO NEXT+ will be disclosed upon closing of the merger agreement with TotalEnergies.
Meantime, the UK Continental Shelf operator said it "will continue to seek other cash accretive transactions." NEO Energy and Repsol Resources UK merged assets in a deal that closed in July to create NEO NEXT and have since followed up with deals to acquire Gran Tierra North Sea Ltd. and bp plc's Culzean field interest.
About the Author
Mikaila Adams
Managing Editor, Content Strategist
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.