Serica Energy plc has bought Spirit Energy Ltd’s remaining 15% non-operated interest in the Cygnus gas field, and producing assets in the Greater Markham Area and Southern North Sea, for £98 million.
DRILLING
The transaction, comprising a headline consideration of £57m and £41m of decommissioning liabilities, has an effective economic date of 1 January 2025.
The Southern North Sea assets include the Spirit-operated fields of Ceres (90%) and Eris (54%), and the non-operated Clipper South (25%) and Galleon (8.4%) fields.
The Greater Markham Area acquisition comprises the Spirit-operated fields of Markham (37.5%); Chiswick (100%); Grove (92.5%); and Kew (100%) fields, as well as the non-operated J3c (4.03%) field and other fields in which Spirit has no ownership.
Serica said that deal would give it 18.7 million barrels of oil equivalent of 2P reserves, as at 1 January 2025, and pro-forma production of around 13,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which 96% was gas, during H1 2025.
The acquisition also establishes an operated production hub in the Southern North Sea for the company.
Chief executive officer Chris Cox added that the transaction added a more than 15% to the company’s reserves, “significantly” boosting production.
“These are also assets I personally know well, and the Cygnus field in particular is an attractive addition to our portfolio given its high uptime, low emissions, and low operating costs.
“There is also the potential for further infill drilling opportunities across the portfolio, most significantly at Cygnus, where drilling is ongoing.”
In October, Spirit completed the sale of 46.25% of its interest in Cygnus, located in the Southern North Sea, to operator Ithaca Energy plc for a headline £116m.
Parent company Centrica plc said that Serica was now left with the Morecambe hub, comprising three fields in the East Irish Sea – North Morecambe, South Morecambe and Rhyl.
Spirit has a 100% interest in each of the fields, off Barrow-in-Furness, which will be used for carbon storage.