Shell (SHEL) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) said Wednesday they will not move forward with a sale of natural gas assets in the U.K. North Sea to Viaro Energy.
“Despite a constructive process, completion conditions were not met as commercial and market conditions evolved,” Shell (SHEL) said.
The parties had agreed in 2024 to the sale, which the Bacton terminal on the east coast of England, which was deemed a site of “strategic national importance,” as the sole entry point for gas from Belgium and the Netherlands, supplying as much as one-third of the U.K.’s gas supply.
Viaro founder Francesco Mazzagatti is facing criminal charges in Italy and civil forgery and fraud allegations in the U.K.
Shell (SHEL) will continue to operate the assets which had been part of the sale, including 11 gas fields and one exploration prospect, in addition to the terminal.