Shell flows first gas from North Sea field

October 1, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

UK-headquartered energy giant Shell has kicked off production from a gas field in the North Sea, which is expected to help maintain domestically produced gas for Britain’s homes, businesses, and power generation sector.

While disclosing the start-up of production from the Victory gas field in the UK North Sea, approximately 47 kilometers northwest of the Shetland Islands, Shell explains that gas will be extracted via a single subsea well connected to an existing pipeline network and transported to the Shetland gas plant.

According to the UK-based operator, the use of existing infrastructure helps reduce operational emissions. Gas will be piped to the Scottish mainland at St Fergus near Peterhead, where it will be fed into the national gas network. A final investment decision (FID) for the project was taken in January 2024.

With peak production estimated at around 150 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, approximately 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, at full capacity, this is perceived to be enough gas to heat nearly 900,000 homes per year.

Shell underlines that most of the field’s recoverable gas is anticipated to be extracted by the end of the decade. Based on the data from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), gas production declined by 10% in 2024, with 61% of the gas supply imported.

As a result, the UK firm believes that Victory will lend a helping hand in curbing the country’s reliance on imports from overseas when older gas fields reach the end of their production. The ownership of the field will transfer to the new independent joint venture, Adura, which will be jointly owned by Shell (50%) and Equinor (50%).

View on Offshore-energy.

Currently, work continues toward securing regulatory approvals for the creation of this joint venture, which is anticipated by the end of 2025. The project is said to contribute to the firm’s commitment to deliver upstream and integrated gas projects coming on stream between 2025 and 2030, with a total peak production of over 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Simon Roddy,  Shell UK’s Upstream Senior Vice President, commented: “Gas fields like Victory play a crucial role in the UK’s energy security, and the country will rely on them for decades to come. 

“They provide an essential fuel we need now, and act as a partner to intermittent renewables as we move through the energy transition. By developing fields like Victory next to existing infrastructure, we are making sure our production in the UK North Sea remains cost competitive and reduces operational emissions.”

North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP) deems the start-up of the Victory field as the first new gas from the West of Shetland since 2017 and the first new gas field into the St Fergus Gas Terminal since the Martin Linge field in 2021.

The gas from the field will be transported via NSMP’s 234-kilometer Shetland Islands Regional Gas Export (SIRGE) pipeline into the Frigg UK Association (FUKA) pipeline, which has the capacity to carry 36 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Angela Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer at NSMP, remarked: “I congratulate Shell on delivering an exemplary project and first gas from the Victory field. NMSP’s infrastructure delivers high reliability and availability for all of our customers. We are delighted to support Shell in supplying gas to meet the UK’s demand.

“Home-grown gas production is a national asset underpinning energy security and economic growth. Critical projects like Victory enable the oil and gas industry to reduce the UK’s reliance on imported LNG, while safeguarding UK jobs and communities.”