Shell sells $3 bn UK asset package to Chrysaor: an in-depth view

This is the largest UK deal since 2010, and largest private equity acquisition since the oil price crash, globally: a significant transaction for both participants, and the wider UK asset market. Chrysaor will pay US$3 billion, potentially rising to US$3.8 billion, contingent upon future exploration results and commodity prices. The acquired portfolio comprises 24 producing assets at various stages of the life cycle, one under-development field and exploration acreage. Key assets are Buzzard, Schiehallion, Beryl and Elgin & Franklin. Shell will be happy to get the deal away: executing a UK disposal, quickly and at acceptable value, was always going to be challenging in a 'stuck' M&A market. PE-backed Chrysaor, meanwhile, is catapulted to the position of third largest producer in the UK (we model acquired production of 120,000 boe/d in 2017).