RoydadNaft – TotalEnergies has agreed to combine its British North Sea oil and gas assets with NEO NEXT Energy, the Repsol and HitecVision-backed platform, creating what will become the basin’s largest producer.

Under the deal announced on Monday, TotalEnergies will contribute its UK North Sea portfolio in exchange for a 47.5% stake in the enlarged entity, which will be renamed NEO NEXT+. Repsol will hold 23.625% and Norwegian private-equity firm HitecVision the remaining 28.875%.

The merged company is forecast to produce more than 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, cementing its position as the top producer in the mature UK Continental Shelf.

The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, marks the latest wave of consolidation in the British North Sea. Operators have been seeking scale and cost synergies after the UK government introduced and repeatedly extended a windfall tax on profits following the 2022 energy price spike.

The tie-up follows the creation of NEO NEXT earlier this year when Repsol folded its UK assets into NEO Energy, a HitecVision portfolio company.

TotalEnergies said the partnership would allow it to optimise its mature North Sea portfolio while retaining material exposure to a larger, more efficient operator.