By Dominic Chopping

Equinor said its U.K. North Sea oil and gas production joint venture with Shell would be headed by industry veteran Neil McCulloch.

The two energy majors said in December that they would combine their U.K. offshore oil and gas assets to form a new company. The new JV will benefit from cost-efficiencies, agility and focus, to sustain domestic oil and gas production and security of energy supply in the U.K, they added.

The company, named Adura, is expected to produce over 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.

Neil McCulloch, currently chief executive at Spirit Energy, will take the top job at Adura. He has held roles across the energy sector over the last 30 years, including at EnQuest, OMV and BG Group.

Nicoletta Giadrossi has been appointed chair of Adura.

Giadrossi is currently chairing MSX International, a provider of technical services to the mobility sector. She is also a board member in Vopak, a global storage infrastructure company, and in Renew Energy Global, a renewables producer in India.

Equinor said that work continues toward securing regulatory approvals, with the launch of Adura expected by the end of 2025.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 08, 2025 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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