13th Oct 2025 10:39
(Alliance News) - Serica Energy PLC on Monday said it has signed an agreement to buy all of BP PLC's stakes in the P111 and P2544 licences in the UK North Sea.
The North Sea-focused oil and gas producer said the acquisition is made up of a 32% non-operated working interest in the P111 licence, which contains the Culzean gas condensate field, and P2544, an exploration licence next to the P111 licence.
Serica will pay USD232 million upfront to London-based oil major BP for the licences.
The Culzean field, which is operated by TotalEnergies SE, is currently the largest single producing gas field in the UK North Sea.
Serica Energy said the proposed acquisition is subject to a 30 day pre-emption period.
During the period, each of the Culzean field partners - TotalEnergies, which owns just under 50%, and Neo Next, which owns slightly over 18% - have the option to buy BP's stake in the licenses on the same terms agreed by Serica.
The terms of the acquisition also include the provision for two more cash payments, dependent on successful results and production from a "large exploration opportunity" on the P2544 licence and changes to the "UK ring-fence fiscal regime".
Serica said further details of the proposed acquisition transaction terms will be given after the expiry of the pre-emption period.
The firm said it can fund the acquisition through a combination of interim cashflows from the Culzean interest and existing financial resources, including cash and undrawn amounts under the USD525 million reserve based lending facility.
Serica said it is also considering putting in place a new acquisition facility, which would be refinanced via increased debt facilities to reflect its larger, more diversified and cash generative asset base after the acquisition.
Culzean had net production to BP of around 25,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2025 at an "exceptionally high operating efficiency" of 98%.
"Should this transaction complete, it would deliver a step-change for Serica, adding material production and cash flows from the largest producing gas field in the UK," said Serica Chief Executive Officer Chris Cox.
"Culzean is a world-class asset, delivering gas from a modern platform with exceptionally high uptime and low emissions."
Shares in Serica Energy were up 7.3% at 192.40 pence in London on Monday morning. BP shares were 0.8% higher at 423.95p.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Serica EnergyBP