What is the main topic?

The article discusses Serica Energy's decision to refocus on UK North Sea operations despite high taxes.

Why did Serica Energy shift focus back to the UK?

Serica Energy sees new investment opportunities in the UK despite the high windfall tax.

What are Serica Energy's future production plans?

Serica expects a 15.6% increase in production in 2025, with maintenance planned for key facilities.

Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking & Finance Review® is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Home > Finance > Serica Energy shifts M&A focus back to UK despite higher tax

Finance

Serica Energy shifts M&A focus back to UK despite higher tax

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®

Posted on January 21, 2025

2 min read

Last updated: January 27, 2026

Lawmaker Kim Leadbeater discusses UK's assisted dying law changes - Global Banking & Finance Review — Image of Kim Leadbeater addressing the media about proposed changes to the UK's assisted dying law, emphasizing the removal of High Court judge sign-off to enhance the legislative process.

Serica Energy Refocuses on UK Oil and Gas Despite Tax Hikes

By Arunima Kumar

(Reuters) -Serica Energy said on Tuesday it would return to focus on growing oil and gas operations in the British North Sea, reversing earlier plans to shift overseas in the face of rising taxes on the sector.

North Sea producers have warned a UK windfall tax on the industry, first imposed in the wake of a surge in energy prices in 2022, would lower investments in the basin.

Some companies have sold assets, while others have merged operations and sought to diversify to other regions.

But Serica CEO Chris Cox said he now saw new investment opportunities in the North Sea.

"I don't think the tax regime can get any worse than it is today ... I think the UK is at the bottom of the cycle at the moment. That's a great time to be buying assets or consolidating," Cox told Reuters.

Serica had previously said it would seek to invest in other geographies, including the Norwegian North Sea.

"The focus was all on Norway ... It's really, really competitive and the expectations of sellers I think are unrealistic for Norway ... We've actually shifted our focus quite strongly back to the UK," said Cox.

Serica said in a trading update ahead of 2024 results on April 1 that it expects a 15.6% increase in 2025 production to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), helped by its assets' improved reliability.

Serica has boosted production through acquisitions and investments in recent years. But it struggled in 2024 due to an outage at its Triton floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) operation in the North Sea, which impacted output.

Following the resumption of production into the Triton FPSO, output has been ramping up, with a five-well drilling campaign at Triton now halfway through.

Serica shares were up 2% in morning trade.

It added that production would be weighted to the first half of 2025, with maintenance at the Bruce Hub and Triton FPSO expected to take production offline in the third quarter for 12 and 45 days, respectively.

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru. Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)

Serica Energy shifts M&A focus back to UK despite higher tax

Quick Summary

Serica Energy Refocuses on UK Oil and Gas Despite Tax Hikes

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions about Serica Energy shifts M&A focus back to UK despite higher tax