Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleTotalEnergies' sale of UK gas assets to Prax is still pending due to Prax's financial issues. The transaction involves mature offshore fields and a gas plant.
By America Hernandez
PARIS -The TotalEnergies West of Shetland offshore assets it agreed to sell to Prax Group last year remain under the French oil major's ownership, it said on Wednesday, so will not be subject to disposals resulting from liquidation proceedings affecting the British company.
"The transaction to sell our West of Shetland asset to Prax has not yet completed and as such we remain the operator of the Shetland Gas Plant and related fields," TotalEnergies EP UK said in its statement.
TotalEnergies had agreed to sell Prax a portfolio of mature offshore fields producing about 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, plus exploration licences and a gas plant, in a deal that would involve transferring employees to Prax.
Prax Group's parent company, State Oil, as well as Prax's Lindsey refinery in Britain entered liquidation proceedings this week, with an administrator saying that all financial options were being considered. Those included a sale of Prax's upstream business and retail operations in Britain and Europe, all of which remain outside insolvency.
A spokesperson for the British oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) declined to comment on whether the sale of the TotalEnergies assets to Prax could proceed given the insolvency proceedings.
The NSTA referred Reuters to its rules on change of ownership of oil and gas assets, which say the regulator considers the financial and technical capability of potential buyers to be critical when assessing transactions for approval.
(Reporting by America Hernandez in ParisEditing by David Goodman)
TotalEnergies agreed to sell a portfolio of mature offshore fields, producing about 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, along with exploration licenses and a gas plant.
The transaction has not yet completed, which means TotalEnergies remains the operator of the Shetland Gas Plant and related fields.
Prax Group's parent company, State Oil, and Prax's Lindsey refinery in Britain entered liquidation proceedings, prompting uncertainty regarding their financial options.
The North Sea Transition Authority declined to comment on whether the sale could proceed due to Prax's insolvency, but emphasized the importance of the financial and technical capability of potential buyers.
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