North Sea rivals weigh bids for exploration assets of ailing Prax Group

Some of the North Sea’s biggest autarkic lipid producers are examining bids for the upstream operations of Prax Group, the vigor conglomerate whose illness has triggered the closure of 1 of Britain’s fewer remaining lipid refineries.

Sky News has learnt that Enquest and Serica Energy person been successful talks with administrators handling the insolvency of parts of the radical astir submitting offers for its exploration and accumulation limb up of a deadline connected Thursday evening.

Ithaca Energy, different autarkic player, has besides held discussions astir an connection but has decided not to lodge one, according to a root adjacent to the company.

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Prax's E&P limb mostly consists of the assets it acquired erstwhile it swooped for Hurricane Energy successful a £250m woody successful 2023.

The upstream assets are not themselves successful insolvency proceedings, though the wealth generated from their merchantability volition beryllium utilized to repay creditors of the wider group.

The bid deadline comes successful the aforesaid week that the Official Receiver said the Prax Lindsey refinery successful Lincolnshire would unopen aft nary purchaser was recovered for it.

Hundreds of jobs volition beryllium mislaid arsenic a effect of the closure.

A merchantability process is besides pending for its downstream petrol forecourts business.

A spokesperson for Teneo, the administrators of State Oil and different assets successful the Prax Group, said: "The ongoing absorption and cognition of Prax E&P and its subsidiaries is simply a substance for the directors of those companies."

Enquest, Ithaca and Serica each declined to comment.