The UK North Sea is being reshaped by consolidation at a pace not seen since the aftermath of the 2014 oil price crash. In the past twelve months alone, a series of mergers has concentrated more than 500,000 boe/d of production into a handful of operators, as companies respond to a 78% marginal tax rate, falling output and an investment environment that has effectively closed to new developments. Deals involving Harbour Energy, TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor and Ithaca Energy have created fewer but larger players managing a basin where production…