Accountants and lawyers kept busy during this year's very first month – at least if they were hired by either oil major Shell or oil company Chrysaor. The transaction between the two concerns Shell's divestment of oil assets in the UK part of the North Sea, and it is a highly complex deal. EnergyWatch outlines the central elements of the transaction below:

• The total sales sum is USD 3.904 billion (EUR 3.645 billion)
• Crysaor will pay an initial consideration – subject to approval from authorities – of USD 3.024 billion to Shell
• Furthermore, Shell will receive up to USD 600 million – subject to the oil price remaining above USD 60 per barrel in the period 2018-2019 and above USD 70 per barrel in the period 2020-2021.
• Finally, Shell will receive up to USD 180 million – conditional on a number of future discoveries. Details are not given about these discoveries.
• If the oil price declines to either below or in the range of USD 47.5 to USD 52.5 per barrel in the period 2018-2021, Shell will pay Chrysaor up to USD 25 million a year.
• Shell has granted a loan to Chrysaor as part of the transaction and committed to selling part of the oil and gas from the divested fields.
• Specifically, Shell has sold the following the Chrysaor (Shell's ownership stakes sold to Chrysaor in parentheses): Buzzard (21.73%), Beryl (39.4%), Bressay (18.4%), Elgin-Franklin (14.1%), J-Block (30.5%), the Greater Armada cluster excluding Gaulpe (76.4%), Everest (100%), Lomond (100%), Erskine (32%) og Schiehallion (10%).
• Shell is the operator on Armada, Everest, and Lomond – after the deal is finalized, Chrysaor will take over these operator commitments.
• After the deal is finalized, Shell will only continue as co-owner on the field Schiehallion.