North Sea oil firm Serica faces further production delays after Storm Éowyn chaos

• Repair delays mean production from Triton unit will not resume before May

By MIKE SHEEN

Updated: 09:37 GMT, 19 March 2025

Serica Energy shares plunged on Wednesday as the North Sea oil and gas firm warned of further production delays related to the damage caused by Storm Éowyn in January.

The London-listed group, which is in discussions over a possible merger with rival EnQuest, told shareholders that delays to repairs meant production from its Triton floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit will not resume before May.

Serica had been expecting critical repairs to be completed and production resumed by mid-to-late March.

Boss Chris Cox said: ‘Our frustrations with the ongoing performance of the Triton FPSO have been well documented – it is not good enough for Serica, and it is not good enough for our shareholders.’

Serica is now in discussions with the FPSO site’s operator Dana Petroleum to consider ‘all options to secure a lasting improvement in… operating performance’, the group added.

Behind schedule: Serica had been expecting critical repairs to the Triton floating production storage and offloading unit to be completed by mid-to-late March

Serica shares were down 7.5 per cent in early trading to 128.11p, bringing losses to more than 30 per cent over the last 12 months.

Shares were handed a boost in January after Serica said it expects oil production to hit 40,000 barrels a day in 2025, compared to 34,600 in 2024.

However, the firm was forced to place this target under review last month.

Shares remain around 70 per cent below an August 2022 peak, when oil prices were trading close to $100/bl compared to below $70/bl today.

Cox said: ‘Our drilling results around Triton have been tremendous, and these need to be converted into sustained production and cashflow.

‘We are working closely with Dana to help support them with the current work, and to drive the change required to deliver a more predictable production performance going forward.’

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North Sea oil firm Serica faces further production delays after Storm Éowyn chaos

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