Serica Energy has agreed to acquire BP’s entire stake in two North Sea licences containing the Culzean gas condensate field – the largest producing gas field in the North Sea.
The company has a stated strategy of growing through the acquisition of mid-to-late life assets and today’s announcement follows the recent acquisition of Prax Upstream Limited from Prax Exploration & Production Plc.
The latest acquisition would give Serica a 32% non-operated working interest in Culzean’s P111 licence and the adjacent P2544 exploration licence.
Net 2P reserves attributable to the stake are estimated at roughly 33 million barrels of oil equivalent as of 1 January 2025. Production costs are said to be $10.70 per barrel.
“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 Chris Cox, Serica’s CEO.
“Culzean is a world-class asset, delivering gas from a modern platform with exceptionally high uptime and low emissions.”
Culzean, operated by TotalEnergies, is currently the largest single producing gas field in UK waters. Under joint operating agreement rules, TotalEnergies (which holds 49.99%) and NEO NEXT (18.01%) now have 30 days to decide whether to exercise pre-emption rights and acquire BP’s stake themselves on the same terms.
The upfront consideration will $232 million in cash, which could be adjusted for working capital and offset by interim post-tax cashflows between September and completion, expected around year-end. Two further contingent payments could also become due: one tied to exploration success and production from the P2544 licence, another linked to potential changes in the UK’s ring-fence tax regime.
The Culzean field was discovered in 2008 and began production in 2019. BP’s share produced around 25,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2025, operating at 98% efficiency.