Shell (SHEL.US) and Equinor (EQNR.US) to merge UK North Sea assets into new company

Norwegian national oil company Equinor (EQNR.US) and Shell (SHEL.US) will merge their offshore oil and gas assets in the UK to create a new company that will be the largest independent producer in the North Sea, according to a statement released on Thursday. The companies said the creation of the joint venture was aimed at “maintaining the security of domestic oil and gas production and energy supply in the UK”. The new producer will be owned by Equinor and Shell, both of which have decades of experience operating in the North Sea.