Serica Energy plc, a British independent upstream oil and gas company with operations centered on the UK North Sea, announces that it has received a renewed License and secondary sanctions assurance from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”)
relating to the North Sea Rhum field, in which the Company has a 50% interest. The License and assurance will allow certain U.S. and U.S.-owned or controlled entities and also non-U.S. entities to continue providing goods, services and support to Rhum beyond 31 January 2023, when the current License was due to expire.
This will enable operations and production from the Rhum field delivering gas supplies to UK consumers to continue unaffected. The new License is for a period of two years with an expiry date of 31 January 2025. The License may be renewed on application by Serica assuming the conditions continue to be met.
Iran, which is heavily sanctioned by the United States, owns 50% of the field.
Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive of Serica Energy, commented: "Once again we have secured a prompt renewal of the OFAC License for a period of a further two years.
We are grateful to the UK government and regulatory authorities who have supported us in this process. The renewal of this License satisfies one of the Completion Conditions required for the acquisition by Serica of Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd.”
Serica Energy is responsible for 5% of the gas produced in the UK and also operates the Bruce and Keith fields in the northern North Sea and the Columbus field in the UK Central North Sea.
The UK firm has stated that it believes its net production will increase by between 50 and 80 per cent this year and that level of production will continue into 2025. This would mean that the company would be producing up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).