Serica Energy PLC

Serica Energy has declared its offer for Pharos Energy final at 32.6683 pence per share, comprising 28.6683 pence in cash and a 4-pence special dividend, and will not increase it after rival Ratio Petroleum Energy raised its proposal. Ratio announced an increased offer on August 7 and said it had secured irrevocable undertakings covering about 41.76% of Pharos' issued share capital. Serica had entered the contest on July 26 with a recommended cash acquisition that surpassed an earlier Ratio transaction worth up to 28 pence per share. The company said its decision reflects a disciplined approach to mergers and acquisitions and that it continues to evaluate other opportunities in the UK North Sea and elsewhere. Pharos operates in Vietnam and Egypt with first-half 2026 working-interest production of about 5,650 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and generated $82 million in first-half revenue with $45.2 million of cash at the end of June.

Atlantic Petroleum announced that production from the Orlando Field has ceased permanently following a pump failure in May 2026. Operator Serica Energy determined that remedial work is not economically justified given the planned 2027 closure of the Ninian platform, and no further output is expected. Atlantic Petroleum holds an economic interest through royalty and deferred consideration arrangements from its 2017 sale of the field, and now expects the carrying value of those Orlando-related assets to be written down to near zero. The company will recognize a material impairment in its upcoming financial reporting, as the cessation ends the field's economic life materially earlier than previously assumed.