A week after Shell and Equinor launched their combined UK North Sea business, French supermajor TotalEnergies announced on Monday it would merge its upstream UK business with NEO NEXT to create the biggest independent oil and gas producer in Britain. TotalEnergies has signed deal with NEO NEXT under which the French major will merge its Upstream business with NEO NEXT and become the leading shareholder in the expanded NEO NEXT, which will be renamed NEO NEXT+, with a 47.5% ownership. Completion of the transaction is subject to…